MARGINAL growth of about
2% is expected for the carrental sector this year based
on improvements in the latter
half of last year, according
to the Southern African
Vehicle Rental and Leasing
Association (Savrala).
“Worldwide growth in the
travel and tourism sector
augurs well for the SA
market. The country should
benefit from an expected
increase in the global number
of flights taken,” says Savrala
gm, Sandile Ntseoane.
Possible headwinds faced
by the sector could be
growing unemployment as
levels of disposable income
decrease, he says.
The short-term fortunes of
the car-hire sector are firmly
linked to the political stability
of South Africa and the ability
of the government and the
private sector to get the
economy back on a positive
growth trajectory, agrees
Lance Smith, Avis Budget
executive of sales.
“The real opportunities
for car rental in 2020 lie in
making life easier for our
customers. This revolves
around digitally enabling
the car-rental experience
and putting the customer in
control.”
In December, Avis
launched the first phase
of its self-service at OR
Tambo and Cape Town
International Airports to
preferred customers who
had downloaded the Avis
app. “The app will enable
customers to choose their
vehicle, add extras, skip the
queue, bypass the traditional
rental kiosk and go straight
to their vehicle.”
Head of corporate
business development of
Wings Travel Management,
Carmen Hidalgo, says
speedy, efficient and reliable
service with a quick dropoff and pick-up will provide
car hire companies with the
competitive edge. “More
efficient reconciliation from
a finance perspective would
also be welcomed. The
lengthy process in obtaining
the invoice, which delays
recons especially for projectbased business, is a major
challenge,” she says.
Thrifty Car Rental expects
growth for the sector this
year, with the company’s
sales director, Leslie
Matthews, saying it had
refocused its penetration into
the corporate market. “We
have also diversified our fleet
based on our customers’
requirements and are buying
vehicles according to their
needs.”
For more on expected
trends in 2020, see our
Industry Outlook feature on
page 4.
