See Much More: The 2026 Auto Rental News Fact Book Digital Edition
U.S. Car Rental Revenue Crosses $40 Billion
A modest rise in rental car usage and an increase in fleet purchases kept the industry on a steady upward path at mid-decade.
December 22, 2025
2025 estimates show an overall healthy, modestly growing industry, with a slight tilt toward optimism for 2026.
Graphic: Auto Rental News
2 min to read
With $40.6 billion in projected revenue in 2025, the U.S. car rental market rose modestly from 2024 levels, which were flat compared to 2023, according to estimates just published in the 2026 Auto Rental News Fact Book.
The new edition includes results and insights from ARN’s biannual Business Outlook survey of car rental operators, including corporate, independent, and franchise operators.
Among other benchmark findings:
The revised 2024 revenue based on end-of-year numbers was $39 billion.
2025 revenue per unit (RPU) was $1,379 per month compared to a revised RPU of $1,427 in 2024.
Rental operations bought about 120,000 more new rental cars in 2025 than in 2024, with overall sales rising from 1.04 to 1.16 million vehicles.
The total industry revenue estimate combines reported and estimated revenue figures from individual companies and the independent rental operations category.
Those include: Enterprise Mobility (Enterprise, National, and Alamo), Avis Budget Group (including Payless), Hertz (Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty), Sixt, Fox Europcar, ACE Rent A Car, Green Motion/U-Save Group, NP Auto Group (Priceless, NextCar, Rent-A-Wreck), and assorted independents.
The bi-annual ARN Business Outlook indicated:
About half of the survey respondents expected their 2025 revenue per unit (RPU) to be about the same as in 2024.
More than half (54%) expected their company’s revenue to be greater in 2026 compared to 2025.
38% of respondents expect their rental operations to increase their fleet size in 2026, and 45% expect to keep it about the same.
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