THE UK car rental industry is heading for record volumes, yet faces restricted supply of vehicles and smaller discounts. A new report predicts rental volumes will increase by a further 15.5% by the year 2001, with a market value of £731 million.

The UK is already the second largest car rental market in Europe and one of the fastest growing, with 5.8 million rentals last year, worth £645 million. This market is dominated by a few major players, according to MarketLine International's report 'UK Car Rental', and it forecasts that this trend will continue.

The total rental fleet numbers some 143,700 cars, with Ford accounting for 31% of these, although the report has found an increasing trend towards other manufacturers supplying the sector - backing claims by Glass's Guide (Fleet News May 31).

Avis remains the largest car rental company, with 21,000 short term rental cars, some 14.6% of the total rental fleet, followed by EuroDollar with 11.3% and Hertz with 11.1%. The leading eight rental companies account for 74.1% of the overall fleet, and although MarketLine reported some 1,800 car rental businesses in the UK, it believes the clear trend towards concentration will continue.