A year ago, air travel came to a near halt, leading to a
glut of rental cars. Rental companies parked their cars in unused lots at ballparks around the nation, and cars were rented for a fraction of their normal price — or
sold as used cars. The industry sold off more than a half a million cars, about a third of their combined fleets, just to generate cash they needed to survive the crisis.
Following a year of deep losses, rental car companies have been unable to rebuild their fleets, especially with
auto plants shut by a
shortage of computer chips needed to build cars.
So this spring's
rebound in spring break travelers has led to a severe shortage of rental cars in vacation hotspots, resulting in sky-high prices for vacationers.