There’s good news on the horizon for car hire customers as experts are predicting cheaper rates in the New Year as the industry recovers from the effects of the economic downturn which has been hampering services over the last two years.

As car rental firms struggled to get financial backing from the banks to purchase new vehicles for their fleet, the number of hire cars available was heavily reduced, which pushed up the cost of rentals as there was still the same amount of demand, but not enough cars to go around.

The cost of car hire in certain holiday hot spots rocketed by as much as 500% as a result which hit holidaymakers hard.

However as the car rental industry starts to emerge from the gloom of the recession, the after effects are also paling in significance. Many operators are now able to obtain the backing of the banks, which means they are in a position to add to their fleet of rental cars.

This spells good news for car hire customers as there will be an increase in the choice of rental cars available which will in turn, help keep rates competitive between car hire providers.

The advice being given by car rental experts to those planning to book car hire is to do so as far in advance as possible in order to take advantage of early booking incentives being offered.