Hertz is a leader in car rental services worldwide, while it has also been the first choice in Serbia for more than a decade. Apart from its fleet of 2,000 vehicles, including everything from fuel-efficient urban cars to luxury sedans, Hertz also offers a wide range of services
Rapid changes within the automotive industry and social product growth per capita will, in the years ahead of us, serve to make car rental an ever more attractive option compared to traditional car ownership – believes Hertz Serbia General Manager Danilo Đurović.
What distinguishes Hertz Serbia from the competition so much?
As the franchisee of a company that’s been a leader of the vehicle rental industry for more than a century, we are obliged to respect the highest industry standards in all aspects of our operations. This enables us to keep pace with trends and also apply the best practices on our market. We have developed systems for monitoring customer satisfaction, which is the basic goal of our business activities and the key to our success.
Is it true that you are able to satisfy the needs of even the most demanding drivers?
We are extremely proud of our flexibility, thanks to which we are able to go out of our way to meet the needs of our clients, even when they have requirements that extend beyond the standard products of daily, monthly, annual or multi-year vehicle rental services. Our basic mission is to have satisfied clients, which is why we constantly listen to their needs and respond to them in the right way.
Our basic mission is to have satisfied clients, which is why we constantly listen to their needs and respond to them in the right way
Interest in operational leasing is growing in developed countries. How is it progressing in our country?
This concept is still in its infancy in our country, and there is great potential for development. The percentage of vehicles acquired through operational leasing, as a proportion of total sales of new vehicles in Serbia annually, is estimated at no more than 20%, while we believe this percentage should be much higher. The right market ambience exists, because, apart from ourselves, there are also several other established companies providing this type of service, so we – as an industry – are doing everything in our power to promote this type of product and familiarise a greater number of clients with it.
We lack institutional support in promoting this type of product, through the establishing of tax incentives, the setting up of legal regulations and legal protections, and the organising of associations. External factors, such as rapid changes in the automotive industry and GDP growth per capita, will, in and of themselves, render car rental a more attractive option than traditional vehicle ownership.
Does our market have any unique characteristics? Which cars do our drivers prefer and which services are in the highest demand in our country?
When it comes to short-term vehicle rental, better known as rent-a-car services, our market is characterised by business users and expatriates, while the share of foreign tourists in total rents lags far behind these two categories. When it comes to operational leasing, it is currently dominated entirely by businesses, on the whole foreign companies and larger domestic firms.
When it comes to vehicle type, the specific characteristics of our market are that sedans remain very popular, while diesel remains the preferred fuel type. Given the general automotive industry trend that sees sedans increasingly replaced by SUVs and crossovers, while ever more manufacturers are announcing and/or implementing the complete withdrawal of diesel options, we also expect shifts in this direction on our market.