Shortage of rental cars may leave SA travellers scrambling: Survey

A new survey has found there’s a significant shortage of rental vehicles in SA after companies were forced to downscale their fleets in 2020 due to travel restrictions and the lack of international tourism.

Online car rental company Drive SA , which conducted the survey among its suppliers, said holidaymakers planning to travel in December and January should secure vehicles immediately as locals gear up for the festive season and demand rises.

Ellena van Tonder of Drive SA said: “Demand has picked up considerably in recent months and rental companies are working to replenish their fleets, but this will take time and we will not be able to keep up with demand.”

Van Tonder said the difficulty with supply is also affected by the shorter lead times they are experiencing with bookings.

“Due to Covid-19, people are reluctant to book far in advance because they don’t know if travel restrictions may be implemented or a new level of lockdown may be announced, so we find the lead times are much shorter than they used to be.

“This may lead to disappointment as we are already 99% booked for December and people looking for January rentals should book now.”

The shortage extends to 4x4 and camper van hire after fleets were slashed as these categories are mostly used by international travellers.

In December 2019 there were just under 1,200 4x4s available via Drive SA, but stock fell as low as 330 by December 2020.

This number has risen to 360.

Mark Matheson of Bushlore Africa said: “Covid-19 led to us reducing the fleet through 2020. We reduced the fleet size by about 40%.

“As travel resumed in late 2020 and early 2021 we held our fleet at this level due to continued uncertainty and limited demand.

“The second half of 2021 saw a big increase in demand and it is clear there is a strong desire to travel. Our occupancies were excellent right through to the end of November and this led to us starting to increase fleet size.

“The demand is there but rental fleets are likely to remain smaller while there is still some uncertainty. Despite concerns about the new Covid-19 variant and latest developments we are optimistic 2022 should be a good year.”

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