Market Expansion and New Entrants
The European automotive market is undergoing rapid expansion, with the number of active manufacturers expected to almost double between 2019 and 2026. More than 90 new OEMs are forecast to be operating in Europe by 2026, creating growing complexity for ACRISS and car rental fleet teams.
A significant share of new entrants comes from China, with a strong focus on EVs, hybrids and range-extender technologies. While concerns remain around data security, many Chinese OEMs now perform well in safety and crash testing, and are increasingly adopting EU-hosted, GDPR-compliant data architectures.
Model Proliferation and Fleet Impact
Model proliferation continues across all major vehicle segments, with SUVs remaining dominant. However, rising vehicle prices are renewing industry interest in smaller, more affordable vehicles, particularly as fleets seek cost-effective replacement of ageing vehicles.
City cars and compact models remain underrepresented among many EV-focused brands, creating a potential opportunity for emerging E-Car concepts but a challenge for car rental companies relying on the popular Mini and Compact categories.
Electrification and Consumer Demand
Despite ongoing regulatory pressure, consumer demand for EVs remains mixed. Key barriers include:
- Charging infrastructure availability
- Range anxiety and charging times
- Cost pressures for consumers and fleet operators
These challenges highlight the growing importance of accurate, transparent vehicle data — including EV range, charging performance and efficiency — areas directly supported by ACRISS initiatives. The same challenges face our car rental members with renters still hesitant to drive EVs especially in unfamiliar locations.
Software-Defined Vehicles and Digitalisation
The automotive industry is rapidly shifting toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs), where vehicle functionality is increasingly managed through software rather than hardware. Features can be activated or deactivated after purchase and updated remotely via over-the-air (OTA) updates. This has been apparent in the introduction of AV level 2 + (SAE defined Partial Driving Automation) with added safety features terminology used in the industry but not adopted formally.
While SDVs enable faster innovation and flexibility, they also introduce challenges, including greater complexity in defining vehicle specifications and potential impacts on warranties, liability and maintenance.
For car rental companies, this trend reinforces the need for clear, standardised vehicle feature definitions and consistent communication to customers across all distribution channels.
ACRISS is looking ahead to support better clarity and communication of new functionality and features offered in SDV vehicles.
