YORK-based Autohorn Car and Van Rental says it completed a successful first year of independent operations with more than 36,000 days of rental bookings in 2024.
During its inaugural year operating outside of the Europcar franchise, Autohorn reports average bookings across its two York sites – Clifton Moor and York Station – were 12 days.
For the last 20 years or so, Autohorn has operated as part of the Europcar franchise, but having amicably separated from its long-term rental partner in January 2024 the business commenced trading as Autohorn Car and Van Rental. The rental operation is a sub brand of the wider Autohorn Fleet Services company.
“2024 was an absolutely critical year for Autohorn Car and Van Rental and we’re delighted to have achieved such a high level of growth. During our first 12 months we’ve been focused on investing in our foundations to ensure we offer the best possible customer experience. We have developed our rental software to ensure the process is simple and upskilled our people. Our whole team is now accredited to BVRLA standards and we’re also recruiting.”
Scott Jenkins, Operations and Sales Director, Autohorn Fleet Services
According to Scott, Autohorn has invested heavily in developing its in-house rental software (known as ALFIE) to streamline the rental process for customers. Developments include e-signatures on rental agreements, remote and online payment system integration, plus direct access to the DVLA database for faster driving licence checks.
In the year ahead, Autohorn plans to increase its environmental commitment by making its rental vehicle mix greener. Currently the rental fleet consists of 15% low emission vehicles, but during 2025 Autohorn will offer a greater range of electric and hybrid vehicles to increase this percentage of low emission vehicles to 25%. The business has already invested a six-figure sum in on-site solar panels to charge its electric vehicles.
“It’s important that we play our part in the decarbonisation of rental operations and reflect the increasing desire by consumers and business customers for greener vehicles,” added Jenkins.
At the end of 2024 Autohorn expanded the rental business with the acquisition of Meridian Vehicle Services.
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
