SHANGHAI, Feb. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — eHi Mobility Research Institute, the research arm of eHi Car Services, a prominent national chain of directly operated car rentals, announced its findings examining the firm’s performance and user data during the 2024 Chinese New Year holiday (Feb 10 – 17). The report records a series of significant breakthroughs over the eight-day holiday period:
- Rental days during the period saw a year-over-year (YoY) increase of over 75%, and a jump of more than 98% compared to 2019; the highest single-day rental rate reached 97%.
- Daily active users (DAUs) on the eHi Car Services app experienced a 60% rise YoY, climbing 130% compared to 2019, while page views witnessed a 110% increase, soaring 240% compared to 2019.
- Vehicle rentals in several provinces surged by more than 100% YoY. The rental location in Wuchuan, Guangdong province led the increase, skyrocketing over 2,000%.
Forecasts from the country’s Ministry of Transport indicate that national cross-regional travel in 2024 Chinese New Year expected to reach 9 billion trips. Remarkably, 80% of these journeys will be made by car, signaling a historic peak in personal travel. This transition to car rental as a predominant travel mode is vividly illustrated by eHi Car Services’ spike in business during the holiday.
The eHi report documents a notable increase in car rentals across the country, with year-over-year growth exceeding 100% in several provinces and autonomous regions, including Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Qinghai, Tibet and Guangxi. Particularly striking are the jumps in rental activity since 2019 in Xinjiang, Hunan, Fujian, Guangxi, Jilin, Henan, Gansu, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Yunnan, where car rentals have more than doubled.
This analysis underscores the dual motivations for holiday car rentals: the necessity of visiting family and the allure of tourism. Renting a car during the holiday offers a preferred solution for many, facilitating their easy travel with ample luggage space and avoiding the congestion of public transport hubs. Besides that, the trend of southern residents traveling north to experience snowy landscapes, alongside the enduring appeal of seeking warmer climates in the south, is well documented in the report. These findings are reflected in the data associated with a few specific cities – rentals in Wuchuan of Guangdong, increased by more than 2,000%, and the surge in Jinjiang of Fujian reached more than 1,000%, while Wuhai of Inner Mongolia, and Laibin of Guangxi witnessed upswings exceeding 300%.
The report indicates that during this year’s holiday, the demand for car rentals in more than 500 Chinese cities nationwide was robust, with privacy, safety, and flexibility being the primary considerations for making the choice. These were the key drivers for the structural change in travel choices during the holiday.
Industry watchers also pointed out that renting a car offers high flexibility, enabling travelers to tailor their travel plans on personal schedules and preferences, free from the constraints of predetermined timetables and routes. ” By the end of 2023, China has registered 24.56 million new vehicles, with 486 million car drivers and 336 million car parc in total, becoming the country with the largest number of car parc in the world. According to the surge in self-drive travel during the Chinese New Year holiday，the evolution in travel behavior not only mirrors the rapid advancement of China’s economic and social fabric, but also energize the transportation sector. With the growing consumer appetite for premium, customized travel experiences, the car rental market is poised for continued expansion,” industry analysts predict.
As a leading nationwide direct-operated brand in China, eHi Car Services has long understood on Chinese market and target users’ travel needs. Aligning with the car travel trends of Chinese customers, eHi has achieved a series of industry-leading breakthroughs while innovating its customer-centric services, including:
- the convenience of nationwide vehicle return
- the first vehicle deposit-free rental option in the sector
- the self-help lockers supporting needs of customers on contactless car pick-ups and returns
- The mystery boxes, which offers customers the chance to rent a vehicle at a discounted rate without specifying the make and model upfront, with the actual vehicle being assigned upon arrival based on availability.
eHi currently has over 10,000 direct-operated service points in more than 500 cities across China, offering nationwide services with more than 200 types of vehicle models. As the car rental industry grows and evolves, public perceptions of car rental are expected to shift, heralding new growth opportunities.
eHi Car Services emphasizes the growing importance of car rental services during the Chinese New Year travel season. The company is responding to the challenge by exploring solutions on a comprehensive array of services that meet the varied needs of travelers during this peak holiday period, and ensuring that every journey is safe and stress-free. This commitment also reflects eHi’s ambition to pioneer the industry through satisfying the heightened expectations of holiday travelers.
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