Large rent-a-car operators to harmonize prices across the EU

Following the European Commission's requirements, car rental companies Europcar, Hertz and Avis have committed to the European Commission not to charge different prices to their customers according to their Member State of residence, unless the differences respond to "objective reasons".

 

Last August, the EU executive sent a letter to the six main international rent-a-car companies to stop setting different prices depending on the place of access to their online platforms, which prevents users from accessing the best prices.

Brussels' request was immediately complied with by Enterprise, Sixt and Goldcar. Instead, Europcar, Hertz and Avis took insufficient measures to solve this issue, according to EU authorities.

These last three operators have been negotiating with the Commission to offer a series of commitments, including not to use automatic redirection after identifying the customer's IP address. This practice in some cases prevented them from completing the booking.

These three companies also do not prevent consumers from finalizing their booking on any of the car rental companies' national sites within the EU, so that customers can choose the best price.

The Community Executive has announced that it will continue discussions on the reasons that can objectively justify the price differences and reflect on how to improve the comparison of rates and information to consumers.