Hertz entering the UK car club market

The rental car giant Hertz has said that it is about to enter the car club market, meaning that it will compete in the UK with the independent operators City Car Club, Streetcar and Zipcar.

The US-based firm will launch new car clubs in London, New York and Paris before Christmas, according to a company spokesman.

In the car-sharing club concept, drivers pay an annual fee that provides them access to cars which can be rented by the hour. It has been enjoying rapid growth in the UK amid the increase in car taxes, fuel costs and parking fees.

Clubs locate their vehicles in parking bays in various city neighbourhoods, and are usually welcomed by local authorities. In London, authorities see the clubs as a way of reducing congesting, by making it possible for some residents to forgo owing their own cars.

The two largest car clubs in the UK, Streetcar and City Car Club, already have a combined membership of 51,000, and analysts have projected an 11-fold growth in the industry over the next four years.

Streetcar, the UK’s largest club, has said that it will open a club in its seventh UK city, Oxford, in the near future. Later this month, it will place cars in five city locations, with plans to double that number in the following six months.

www.hertz.com