The relationship is synonymous to the law of demand and supply: no rentals means no new car purchases. That is the scenario at the moment as rentals are not spared from the economic plunge. With people opting to forego renting a car, car rentals seem to be finding little reason to purchase new cars.
With that, car manufacturer sales are hurting as well. A fine portion of their sales come from car rentals who invest in these cars for business. Car rental companies have seen demand for their services fall since the financial crisis erupted in September 2008, prompting businesses and consumers to cut back on travel spending.
With cars sitting idle in their lots, rental companies are much more inclined to scale back their fleets than to buy new vehicles.
(Source) AP
Tags: auto sales, car manufacturer, car purchases, car rentals, financial crisis, new cars, new vehicles, plunge, rental car companies, renting a car