Rental Cars Reach 102,852 Bookings, €17M in Revenue

DREM Publishes First-Ever Survey on Madeira’s Vehicle Rental Industry

The Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM) released, for the first time, data from the new Quarterly Survey of Vehicle Rental Companies of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ITEAVRAM). Published on October 20, 2025 - World Statistics Day - the report provides an overview of how the rent-a-car sector performed between January and March 2025.
According to the provisional figures, the sector generated total revenues of €17.07 million during the first quarter of the year, confirming the industry’s solid role in Madeira’s tourism economy.

Between January and March 2025, the number of rental service clients reached around 98,900.

DREM

102,852 Rental Contracts Signed, Majority Collected at the Airport

DREM recorded 102,852 car rental contracts in the first quarter of 2025. More than half of these (58%) were linked to vehicles collected directly at Madeira’s airport, showing the strong connection between car rentals and air travel. Another 33% of the rentals took place in company offices, and around 9% in hotels.
The survey also found that each vehicle was rented on average 9.3 times during the three-month period, while the average rental lasted six days for passenger cars, three days for motorcycles, and five days for motorhomes.

Fleet Totals 11,069 Vehicles, Only 1% Were Electric

At the end of March 2025, the region’s rent-a-car fleet included 11,069 vehicles. Of these, 95.9% were light passenger cars, 4% were motorcycles, and a small share - just 0.1% - were motorhomes.
The data also reveal the dominance of traditional fuels: 86% of vehicles were gasoline, 6.6% diesel, and 6.4% hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Only 1% were fully electric, showing that the transition to electric mobility remains limited in this sector.

Germans and Portuguese Lead Among 98,900 Rental Customers

Between January and March 2025, Madeira’s rental companies served about 98,900 customers. The largest group came from Germany (21.3%), followed by Portugal (20.1%) and Poland (12.6%). French and British tourists ranked next, accounting for 9.2% and 8%, respectively.

€17 Million in Revenue, With 73% From Basic Rental Services

The DREM report showed that total revenues for the first quarter reached €17.07 million, of which €12.5 million (73.1%) came from the base rental service.The remaining €4.6 million (26.9%) came from additional services such as insurance, GPS, child seats, a second driver option, and airport fees.
Analysts note that this is only the first quarter of the year - traditionally a quieter period for tourism - suggesting that revenue could grow significantly as travel activity increases across the island.

Almost 7000 Rental Cars on Madeiras Streets Every Day (On Average)

Based on these numbers, we can caldculate that about 6,858 rental cars were in use daily in Madeira during Q1 2025. The calculation:
- 102,852 contracts × 6 days average rental ÷ 90 days in the quarter = 617,112 ÷ 90 ≈ 6,858 cars per day. With the proposed €2 daily tax, Madeira could generate nearly €14,000 per day or about €2.5 million annually from rental cars.

Depending on seasonal demand, this equals roughly 60–70% of the 11,069-vehicle fleet active at any time. To compare: Madeira has roughly 420.000 registered vehicles from which 82,2% are light vehicles, this is according to statistics from IMT (2023).

Overview - These Are The Numbers

General Data

• Survey: Inquérito Trimestral às Empresas de Aluguer de Veículos da RAM (ITEAVRAM)

• Reference period: 1st quarter of 2025 (January–March 2025)

• Publication date: October 20, 2025

• Total revenue: €17,073,681

Fleet Information

• Total rental vehicles: 11,069

  • Light passenger cars: 10,613 (95.9%)

  • Motorcycles: 447 (4.0%)

  • Motorhomes: 9 (0.1%)

• Fuel types:

  • Gasoline: 9,520 vehicles (86.0%)

  • Diesel: 735 vehicles (6.6%)

  • Hybrid/plug-in hybrid: 705 vehicles (6.4%)

  • Fully electric: 109 vehicles (1.0%)

Rental Activity

• Rental contracts signed: 102,852

• Average number of rentals per vehicle (Q1): 9.3 times

• Average rental length:

  • Passenger cars: 6 days

  • Motorcycles: 3 days

  • Motorhomes: 5 days

• Estimated total rental days (Q1): 617,112

• Estimated average number of cars rented per day (Q1): ≈6,858

• Estimated average per day (yearly): ≈6,800–8,000 vehicles

Customers

• Total customers: ≈98,900

• Nationalities:

  • German: 21.3% (~21,000)

  • Portuguese: 20.1% (~19,400)

  • Polish: 12.6% (~12,200)

  • French: 9.2% (~9,000)

  • British: 8.0% (~7,700)

Revenue Breakdown

• Total revenue: €17.07 million (100%)

  • Base rental services: €12.5 million (73.1%)

  • Other services: €4.6 million (26.9%)

    • Includes: additional insurance, second driver fee, GPS, child seat, and airport tax

Source: DREM