The 10 Largest Car Rental Companies In The United States

Determining which car rental companies are the largest could be done in several different ways. To be as thorough as possible, we’ve included their counts for the number of cars they have on the roads in the United States, their number of locations, and their estimated revenue in millions for the year 2020.

Not surprisingly, during 2020, most major car rental companies suffered financial losses over the previous year as people were asked to stay in quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic.

DETAILED LIST OF THE 10 LARGEST CAR RENTAL COMPANIES

1. Enterprise Holdings. Clayton, Missouri USA

   Cars in Service in USA: 1.1 million
   Number of Locations: 6,000
   2022 Estimated Revenue: $30 billion

   Enterprise Holdings probably seems familiar because you’ve heard of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but they are more than that one brand. Enterprise Holdings also includes Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental. They’re truly a giant in the industry, and that can clearly be seen by their numbers.

   Enterprise Holdings was formed in 2009 when Enterprise Rent-A-Car acquired Vanguard Automotive Group, which owned National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car. It is a private holdings company owned by the Taylor family.

   It was established in 1957 as Executive Leasing by Jack Taylor. Later, the company was changed to Enterprise in memory of the World War II ship USS Enterprise where Jack had served.

   Since its beginnings, the company has focused on customer service, and its success can be directly attributed to this policy.

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2. Independents.

   Cars in Service in USA: 42,000
   Number of Locations: 4,200
   2021 Estimated Revenue: $24.7 billion

   As a comparison, the independent car rental agencies in the United States have about 42,000 cars, which averages out to only ten cars for each location, but they do make a tidy sum each year.

   You can see that there is only room for a few giants in this industry, then the franchises start making some headway, and then it comes down to a lot of little independents around the country.

3. Avis Budget Group. Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey USA

   Cars in Service in USA: 350,000
   Number of Locations: 3,200
   2022 Estimated Revenue: $12 billion

   In the data above, the information for Avis Budget Group includes Avis and Payless, but not Zipcar. Zipcar runs under a membership model, so it’s a bit different than traditional car rental agencies.

   Avis is a national brand, and while the other giants in the industry operate on an international level, Avis began opening franchises overseas as early as 1953. But their start was in the good old motor city itself, Detroit.

   In 1946 Avis was founded by Warren Avis at Willow Run Airport in Detroit and was the first to connect the rental agency with aviation – a brilliant move.

   Many different acquisitions, mergers, buy-ins, and corporate structures happened over the years. Most notably was probably the purchase of outstanding shares by Cendant in 2001, making Avis a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cendant, and the corporate headquarters moved to where it is today.

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4. Hertz. Estero, Florida USA

   Cars in Service in USA: 430,000
   Number of Locations: 3,800
   2022 Estimated Revenue: $8.68 billion

   Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. is another giant in the industry, and its car divisions include Hertz Corporation, Firefly Car Rental, Thrifty Car Rental, and Dollar Rent A Car brands. Citing the Covid-19 crisis, the company filed for bankruptcy on May 22, 2020.

   Originally, Rent-a-Car Inc. was founded by Walter L. Jacobs in Chicago, Illinois, in 1918 with a dozen Model T Fords. Within five years, he expanded the business to 600 vehicles and was incredibly successful.

   John D. Hertz became interested and purchased the company in 1923 and called it Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System. Jacobs stayed with the company in an executive position until 1961.

   Interestingly, Hertz was purchased by General Motors Corporation, and they largely shaped car rentals by introducing the first rental car charge card, opening a location at Chicago’s Midway Airport, and introducing one-way rental plans.

   But in 1953, John Hertz bought the company back, and it became a publicly traded business. The company then went through many different corporate ownerships and changes and expanded globally.

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5. Sixt. Pullach, Germany

   Cars in Service in USA: 18,500
   Number of Locations: 100
   2022 Estimated Revenue: $3.39 billion

   With their headquarters in Germany, it’s pretty obvious that Sixt is an international company. Most of the company is owned by the Sixt family, but part of it is publicly traded.

   Sixt began in 1912 when Martin Sixt gathered a fleet of cars and became the first car rental company in Bavaria. During both WWI and WWII, the company’s fleets were seized by the German Army. After both wars were finally over, the family developed a taxi fleet.

   Sixt experienced its ups and down in Europe but didn’t break into the North American market until 2011. They’ve grown considerably since, primarily because of their experience in the industry overseas, and they show signs of continued growth throughout the United States.

6. Fox Rent A Car. Los Angeles, California USA (multiple locations)

   Cars in Service in USA: 18,200
   Number of Locations: 21
   2022 Estimated Revenue: $249 million

   Fox Rent A Car, Inc. was founded in 1989 and catered to airport travelers, giving them a value option. They quickly realized that price is the determining factor for many travelers, and they wanted to get in the game by giving them a low-cost option.

   They are currently owned by Europcar Mobility Group, which was purchased in 2019. Originally, the company was founded by three partners who set up a location near LAX in Los Angeles in 1989.

   Their success allowed them to slowly set up more airport locations over the next 20 years. In the 2000s, their company grew, and affiliate locations counted for a big jump in their business.

   With Europcar taking over and COVID hitting, it’s not certain what the company will do, but it’s assumed they will continue on their established expansion track.

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7. ACE Rent A Car. Indianapolis, Indiana USA

   Cars in Service in USA: 9,000
   Number of Locations: 60
   2020 Estimated Revenue: $73 million

   ACE Rent A Car, a privately held company, was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by Robert Sorensen and Ken Osterand. The pair originally opened a car wash together in 1957, but by 1966 they noticed a demand for rental cars, so they added ten cars to their business.

   At the time, the rental cars were under the Airways Rent A Car brand. Eventually, the two friends and nine other operators working under Airways broke away and founded American International Rent a Car.

   In 1978, Osterand retired, and Sorensen continued to grow the business. In 1986, he broke off from American International and launched the ACE Rent A Car brand. After Sorensen passed away, a family member and long-time employee took over.

   The company expanded and eventually sold the rental business to Avis Budget Group in 2014, but they retained ownership of the brand, licensee system, and proprietary software.

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8. NP Auto Group. Laurel, Maryland USA

   Cars in Service in USA: 7,500
   Number of Locations: 100
   2020 Estimated Revenue: $60 million

   NP Auto Group includes Priceless and next car, but it runs on a franchise motto, unlike many other car rental agencies. The company firmly believes that customer service is the key to getting and keeping customers, so they offer in-depth training for their franchisees in the systems they use and in customer maintenance.

9. U-Save Auto Rental System. Ridgeland, Missouri USA

   Cars in Service in USA: 5,500
   Number of Locations: 124
   2020 Estimated Revenue: $22 million

   U-Save was founded in 1979 and has been in the car rental business since then, and currently boasts more than 200 locations around the globe. They focus on discount prices and excellent service and are another franchise-based business.

10. Rent-A-Wreck of America. Laurel, Maryland USA

    Cars in Service in USA: 1,750
    Number of Locations: 71
    2020 Estimated Revenue: $18 million

    The business model for Rent-A-Wreck is to buy used cars from individuals and then offer them as rentals to people who couldn’t rent from other car rental agencies. They focus on a client base that’s either young or people with bad credit.

    The company was founded in 1968 in Los Angeles. Rent-A-Wreck grew and started opening franchises. In 2006 it was purchased by JJF Management.

Largest Car Rental Companies FAQ

1. Who is the largest car rental company?

   Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the U.S. Enterprise Holdings has 6,000 locations across the U.S. with 1.1. million cars in service. Their estimated revenue for 2022 is $30 billion.

2. Is the car rental industry profitable?

   Yes, the car rental industry is profitable. While there is a high overhead and startup cost in running a car rental company, the high demand for rental cars usually results in a profitable business venture.

   However, the trick is to keep demand up, as they witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic when their customer base dried up overnight; things went downhill fast when customers stopped coming.

Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.