The cost of hiring a car abroad has dropped across a number of destinations throughout Europe, according to new research which uncovered average price drops of 40% compared to figures from 2013.

Car hire company autoeurope.co.uk analysed its rates with its suppliers over a five-year period in a number of popular sunshine hotspots, including: Alicante; Barcelona; Malaga; Nice; Palma and Tenerife, all of which have seen holiday car hire rates become increasingly cheaper.

The figure was calculated using the average daily rate for holiday car hire across the continent between the months of April and August.  The best savings are to be found at Barcelona Airport, with prices less than the average saving across the rest Europe.

Picking up a large family car in Barcelona could see you save more than half (55%) compared to 2013. The rental price is now as low as £22.72 per day (a further 15% saving compared to the average daily rate across the continent), where it was £51.27 per day in 2013.

Prices for hiring a car in the UK having also dropped. It can now cost as little as £11.62 a day to hire a car in London – a city where you might have expected to see rates inflated – although it isn’t the case as the data shows a 22% decrease compared to five years ago.