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“Short-term car rental in Lithuania, as in many other countries, began with the need of tourists arriving in the country to rent a car for independent travel. For this reason, the first car rental points were located at Vilnius Airport, where foreigners could conveniently choose the vehicle of their choice for domestic travel upon arrival,” comments Mantvydas Janeliūnas, head of the short-term rental department of the Avis airport brand.
According to him, at that time in Lithuania there were no such opportunities to easily buy new cars, especially models with air conditioning were a big innovation, but such cars did not surprise tourists from abroad at all.
“Our short-term car rental service started with just six Toyota Corolla and Volvo cars. Back then, cars were booked either live in the office or by fax – there was no online system, we only had a mobile phone. After several years of operation, we also offered a long-term car rental service for companies – it was completely unthinkable for companies to rent cars instead of buying them. The first business customers therefore included international companies with branches or representative offices in Lithuania. Only later did this service catch on with local companies,” recalls M. Janeliūnas.
Lithuanian company representatives traveling abroad also needed the services of car rental companies – at that time, not everyone had the necessary credit cards to rent a car in the company’s representative offices in other countries, so the company operating in Lithuania provided them with the necessary ones issued guarantees.
Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular
In 30 years, not only cars have changed, but also the needs of drivers: conventional gasoline and diesel models are increasingly being replaced by hybrid or electric cars, and drivers no longer want to drive cars with manual transmissions.
“You can say that the transition to automatic transmission is practically complete – out of 360 cars for short-term rental this season, we only had 7 models with manual transmission.” “This trend is also taking hold in the long-term rental sector, where customers choose the cars “The ones they would most like to drive – it all depends on the needs of the company,” observes the head of Avis Short’s temporary rental department.
According to the interviewee, the electrification of cars is clearly progressing – customers are not only actively interested in the latest news from the car market, but also want to drive the latest, less environmentally harmful models. The electric Tesla models offered for rent are no longer a surprise – they are increasingly being classified as mid-range electric cars after significantly more expensive “premium” class models appeared on the market.
“Companies’ perceptions of car rental and mobility are also changing.” More and more often, the company’s vehicle fleet is being leased instead of purchased by opting for an operating leasing service, in which all operating costs necessary for the expected period and the expected mileage are covered included in the monthly rental payment. This service allows companies to focus on their core business without wasting time and labor costs on vehicle management and maintenance,” emphasizes Laura Tomkevičienė, head of the company’s long-term rental department.
In their opinion, the decisive factor for such a choice is also the convenience of the service – the service provider takes care of technical maintenance, seasonal tire changes or repairs of the rental car, and if necessary, a replacement car is also provided, so the company can rely more on its direct Focus activities.
“I think we are inevitably moving towards sustainability – cars need to be used efficiently and not parked in yards or car parks where they take up space.” “The way car sharing has caught on with consumers just proves it “that society was ready for such a change in behavior – to use the car as often as was necessary at that time,” says L. Tomkevičienė.
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