As Americans leave compact cars behind, rental companies buy them up
Ever notice a car that seems to be all over the road even though you don’t know a single person who actually owns one? Like a Chevy Cruze or a Toyota Camry maybe?
If so, it is not a coincidence. Apparently, Americans are losing interest in a number of midsize and compact cars, so they’re being bought up by rental car companies.
According to information provided to the Wall Street Journal:
“About 21% of the compact cars and 20% of the midsize cars sold during the first quarter ended up in daily rental fleets, up from about 17% in the same period a year earlier, according to the most recently available U.S. registration data. For subcompact cars, the daily rental mix was 28% for the period, up from 24% in the prior year.’’
The Journal said that retail sales for the Camry and the Cruze have gone down because many Americans are taking advantage of cheaper gas prices and buying SUVs.
In the first quarter of this year, the Journal reported, these were the top five cars sold to rental fleets by percentage of overall sales:
– Chevrolet Cruze (45 percent)
– Chrysler 200 (39 percent)
– Nissan Altima (27 percent)
– Toyota Camry (24 percent)
– Toyota Corolla (20 percent)
Read the rest of the story here (behind paywall).
See the 20 longest lasting vehicles:
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