Autonomous driving is overturning the table of the tourist car rental industry.

Renting a car for travel is often no easy feat.

From placing an order, picking up the car, using navigation, driving, finding a parking space to returning the car, every step requires personal involvement. On unfamiliar roads with unfamiliar rules, tourists not only have to complete their trips but also "take care" of the car throughout the journey: worrying about traffic violations, accidents, and fines.

For many people, renting a car doesn't truly liberate their travel; instead, it becomes a high - intensity driving task.

This "driving - centered" car - rental experience may change fundamentally with the popularization of autonomous driving.

In recent years, autonomous vehicles have gradually appeared on the roads and in the public eye. Autonomous driving has shifted from the stage of "proving the technology's reliability" to the stage of "proving commercial viability." The year 2026 may be an important year for the commercial application of autonomous driving and the beginning of its large - scale expansion.

As the number of L4 autonomous vehicles in use gradually increases and their autonomous driving capabilities continue to improve, in the next five years, more and more autonomous vehicles will be in operation for passenger transportation and commercial applications on the roads. This will bring new opportunities and changes to the traditional car - rental industry and make car rental a more popular travel option for tourists. Meanwhile, the combination of autonomous driving and the car - rental business may bring greater transformation opportunities to the industry.

01

Expanded User Base and Increased Business

When users rent an autonomous vehicle on a car - rental platform, what they are paying for is no longer the right to drive a car but a travel service. Users don't need to drive themselves, don't need a driver's license, and don't need to consider many factors in their consumption decisions, such as driving experience, personal physical strength, familiarity with road conditions, and the risk of accident claims. More people can easily rent a car for travel and trips.

The aging society has led to a growing number of elderly people. School students who love traveling and young people who have just entered the workplace will all become target user groups. People who lack confidence in their driving skills and those without a driver's license can rent a favorite autonomous vehicle model in an unfamiliar city, area, or section of the road, and enjoy the unique "third space" inside the car. They only need to enter the starting and ending points, and the vehicle can quickly connect and reach the destination autonomously. This will bring new growth space to the tourist car - rental market and even the entire car - rental industry.

Imagine that a tourist wants to leave from a hotel. They can call or reserve the departure time with one click, and the vehicle will arrive autonomously. After getting in the car, the tourist enters the destination, and the vehicle will head there autonomously. The tourist can do what they like inside the car, listening to music and watching videos, and the journey becomes part of the travel experience. After a day of sightseeing and returning to the hotel, the vehicle returns to the parking lot autonomously. The tourist ends the service with one click, no longer has to worry about finding a parking space or getting a parking ticket, or "taking care" of the car. When the car - rental period ends, the tourist returns the car with one click, and the vehicle goes to the parking spot on its own. There's no need for the user to drive the car there in person or wait for the rental company's staff to pick it up. Everything is fast, efficient, and "worry - free," and the experience has indeed improved a lot.

02

Reduced Operating Costs for Rental Companies

The autonomous driving ability of vehicles will also reduce the operating costs of rental companies. Autonomous vehicle delivery expands the service coverage of car - rental outlets. Car - rental platforms and companies don't have to "spend a fortune" to open stores in high - rent, traffic - convenient areas such as transportation hubs and city centers. The outlets can be at a certain distance from users, and there's no need to compete for or lease popular parking spaces. The rental cost will be significantly reduced. At the same time, since the vehicles can deliver and return themselves, the labor cost for on - site delivery and pick - up can also be saved.

Since users don't need to drive themselves, it frees their hands and creates opportunities for "secondary sales" inside the car for rental companies, bringing the possibility of diversified income. Movies, music, scenic spots, entertainment, local specialties, etc., are all good options.

03

Development Opportunities for Shared Mobility

With the popularization of autonomous vehicles, especially after private cars are equipped with L4 autonomous driving, it becomes possible for private cars to connect to car - rental platforms to sell their "idle time" and even provide ride - hailing services for a single trip. Users and car owners have full access to information about the vehicle's usage status and location. It's convenient to pick up and return the car. Car owners don't have to worry about the risks of vehicle asset damage and financial losses caused by users' driving skills, drunk driving, violations, etc. Users don't have to worry about disputes caused by car owners' "fraud" and other issues. The obstacles to the transaction of shared vehicles are gradually disappearing.

Especially in the travel scenario, due to many factors such as personal safety, property safety, and fraud risks, the probability of a "foreigner" renting a "local car" was very low before. Autonomous vehicles have solved some of the above problems. Moreover, the vehicles have data accumulation on local road conditions, scenic spots, parking spaces, etc., providing a better riding experience and higher driving efficiency. The intelligent software and hardware inside the car can also bring a more "local" experience to users. Meanwhile, there are also some commercial opportunities here.

Conclusion

The popularization of autonomous vehicle applications will also gradually blur the boundaries between the car - rental and ride - hailing industries. Users are essentially purchasing vehicle travel services, only differing in the length of the service purchased. Ride - hailing is a one - way trip service from the starting point to the ending point, while car rental is a multi - trip service during the rental period. There is a possibility of integrated development or industry mergers between car - rental platforms and ride - hailing platforms, with both risks and opportunities.

In addition, autonomous driving also makes car rental and car purchase different choices. If car rental is convenient enough, doesn't require a driver's license, and the rental cost is low enough, there may be a situation where "renting a car is better than buying one." Users may no longer favor "ownership." The boundary between "shared" and "owned" is gradually blurring. In other words, the necessity of owning a private car is decreasing. The convenience, low cost, and wide selection of car models in car rental are all contributing to this change. Driving may become a hobby for the wealthy. The cost of owning a non - autonomous vehicle and driving on the road will become very high, and driving will only be allowed in designated areas, similar to horse - riding today.

From another perspective, in addition to the decline in the willingness to buy private cars, the increase in the number of autonomous commercial vehicles will also lead to a decrease in the number of private cars. One highly efficient autonomous commercial vehicle can meet the travel needs of multiple private car owners. In other words, autonomous commercial vehicles can meet the travel needs of some private car owners, and these people don't need to buy a car.

The decline in the number of private cars will also bring profound changes to the industry. The commercial value of car - rental platforms or ride - hailing platforms will increase. The number of automobile manufacturers may decrease. Moreover, since vehicles can drive autonomously and even fly at low altitudes, there will be integration and competition between automobile manufacturers and aircraft manufacturers. Perhaps one day, users can purchase low - altitude flight services on a car - rental platform, and traffic jams will become history.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Travel Daily". Author: Teng Deyi. Republished by 36Kr with permission.