Cyprus sees ‘most dramatic’ car rental price increase in Which? survey

Cyprus has seen the ‘most dramatic’ price increase in car rentals, out of nine popular tourist destinations, according to research published by Which? on Friday.

The cost to rent a car for seven days in 2023 saw a 112 per cent price hike over pre-pandemic prices in 2019, the consumer group revealed.

According to data from broker Zest Car Rental, the average cost of a week’s car rental in Cyprus was £117 in 2019, and has gone up to £248 this year.

The data compares Easter rental prices for Cyprus, Portugal, Greece, US, Balearic Islands, Madeira, Italy, Spain and France.

“Hiring a car for an Easter getaway is 72 per cent more expensive than it was before the pandemic,” Which? said.

Last year the cost of car hire sky-rocketed due to a drastic shortage of vehicles, it added.

“Rental companies sold off cars at the start of the pandemic in order to stay afloat and reduce overheads. When travel restrictions were lifted and demand returned, they struggled to fully replenish their fleets quickly. This is largely due to less car manufacturing during lockdowns, a global shortage of semiconductor chips – a vital electrical component – and now rising energy costs.”

The US is the most expensive place to hire a car of all the destinations checked in the research. In the 2019 Easter holidays, the typical price for one week would amount to £298. “This year, the average holidaymaker will shell out a whopping £537 per week – 80 per cent more.”

In Madeira, hiring a car for seven days will cost 64 per cent more than Easter 2019: £340, up from £207. Car hire is also more than £100 more expensive for a week in Portugal, the Balearic islands, Greece, Italy and Cyprus.

Although rental rates have risen the least (25 per cent) in France, it is still one of the more expensive places to hire a car – with a week’s rental now costing £364, on average, according to Which?

“The supply of vehicles has improved since last spring, when hire cars were thin on the ground in the Algarve, Alicante, Malaga and Mallorca. The average price of a week’s rental on the Balearic islands shot up to £805 last February half-term, according to data from Zest. Since then rental prices have fallen in some destinations, but remain considerably higher than pre-pandemic.”