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03/30/2022

The Rental Car 'Apocalypse' Hasn't Ended

What to know before booking

The “rental car apocalypse” dawned a little more than a year ago as vaccinated travelers started to venture back into the world only to find fewer vehicles and hiked-up prices. Experts say the scenario is slightly less doom and gloom now — but also far from the pre-pandemic norm.

That is because the shortage of semiconductor chips that has held up auto manufacturing persists, leaving rental car companies to operate with lower inventory after they sold off chunks of their fleets in the early days of the pandemic. Building that stock back up has been more difficult than expected.

"It's still tough out there," said Greg Scott, spokesman for the American Car Rental Association (ACRA). "The supply chain problems have not resolved themselves. There are some instances where the supply of new cars has improved, but it’s not back where it needs to be and it won’t be for a long time."

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.

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