China's car rental services saw robust business in the recently concluded New Year holiday as domestic travel demand in the country rapidly recovered.

A prominent car rental company in Beijing experienced a notable rise in rental bookings throughout 2023, fueled by the robust recovery of the tourism market. Li Songshi, general manager of a flagship branch, revealed that they faced exceptional demand during holidays, often struggling to meet the overwhelming customer demand with an insufficient supply of cars.
In anticipation of a surge in orders during the three-day New Year holiday, which ended on Monday, the company made early preparations for vehicle scheduling to ensure smooth operations.
"We observed an almost threefold year-on-year increase in 'mass transit + local rental' during last year's National Day holiday. Although we don't have the data for the New Year holiday yet, we have a positive outlook based on our observations," Li said.
The airport flagship store of the company reported that during the holiday, they received an average of nearly 100 rental orders per day. Most of these orders came from tourists visiting Beijing, who picked up their cars right at the store after landing at the airport.
According to the manager, the rental rate of vehicles at the store is close to 80 percent.
"The rental rate of our store has grown by about 30 percent. During the New Year holiday, our order volume has reached a new high compared to the same period last year, with a noticeable upward trend in growth," said Li Haodong, the manager.
Another internet car rental platform, with a vehicle inventory exceeding 400,000, has approximately 130,000 cars available for immediate rental.
"With 130,000 vehicles, we can meet the demand during the off season. However, during peak periods such as the National Day holiday and the Spring Festival, it is not enough. Our efforts are underway to address this issue," said Hu Xianhe, CEO of the platform.