Budget Car Rental

What Budget Car Rental does

Budget Car Rental Ireland is the Irish operating entity of the global Budget Rent-a-Car brand, operating as an independent licensee under Avis Budget Group, Inc. The company provides consumer-facing car rental services across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with desks at all major Irish airports (Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock, Kerry, Belfast International, Belfast City) plus city centre locations in Dublin, Galway, Killarney, Roscommon, and Ballygar, with the head office and central reservations function based in Roscommon. Its primary service is short-term daily and weekly vehicle rental (1–28 days), supplemented by long-term leasing of 1–3 months via the Budget Leasing division, ex-rental car sales with financing from €99 deposit, and a portfolio of ancillary add-on products including GPS navigation, child seats, excess reduction waivers, windscreen cover, roadside assistance plus, and personal accident insurance underwritten by Chubb.

The fleet spans economy to luxury classes and notably includes electric vehicles (Tesla Model 3) and hybrid SUVs. The business is technology-enabled through connected vehicle telematics used for fuel monitoring, diagnostics, mileage tracking, and vehicle telemetry (location, speed, acceleration, impact data) for fleet and incident management. Operational integrations include eFlow for automatic M50 barrier-free toll processing in Dublin, Google Maps for accommodation discovery, and direct customer-facing channels consisting of the budget.ie online booking platform (operating since 2000), iOS/Android mobile apps, and an affiliate/travel-partner programme targeting Irish travel agents, brokers, and online travel companies.

Budget Ireland monetises primarily through transaction-based daily rental fees (with all compulsory insurance and unlimited mileage included in the base price), recurring monthly fees from long-term leasing (€250 excess, full insurance included), ancillary per-day add-on fees, ex-rental vehicle sales, and a cross-border coverage fee for ROI/NI crossings. Pricing is structured by vehicle class with excesses ranging from €2,000 to €4,500 in the Republic of Ireland and £1,700 to £2,500 in Northern Ireland, with separate euro and sterling pricing tiers. Customer segments are predominantly inbound international tourists and domestic staycation travellers booking through airport desks, supplemented by business travellers and broker-sourced bookings.

Name

Budget Car Rental

Legal name

Avis Budget Ireland

Website

https://budget.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Budget Car Rental Ireland operates as an independent Avis Budget Group licensee providing short-term and long-term car rental across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, serving tourists, domestic travellers, and business visitors through 11+ airport and city centre locations with an EV-inclusive fleet and online direct booking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Car Rental Services

NAICS

Passenger Car Rental (532111), Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing (5321), Passenger Car Leasing (532112)

SIC

Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Drive Car Rental (THADAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Long-Term / Monthly Car Rental (THADAAAE), Local City / In-Town Car Rental (THADAAAC), One-Way / Intercity Car Rental (THADAAAD), Long-Term Car Rental (Monthly/Extended Hire) (TLABAAAD)

Keywords

• Car rental services
• Vehicle hire
• Airport car hire
• Long-term car leasing
• Ex-rental car sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Roscommon

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Short-term Vehicle Rental: Core revenue from daily/weekly car rental spanning 1-28 days. Prices include all compulsory insurances, unlimited mileage, 24-hour breakdown cover, and a free Budget map of Ireland. Additional charges apply for optional extras such as GPS, child seats, additional drivers, excess reduction, windscreen cover, roadside assistance plus, and personal accident insurance.
2. Long-term Car Rental / Budget Leasing: Long-term rental for 1-3 months via Budget Leasing, with full insurance quoted in the price, excess of only €250, and 24-hour breakdown assistance. Available at Dublin, Cork, and Shannon Airports as well as city centre locations in Dublin, Galway, Killarney, and Roscommon.
3. Ancillary Products and Services: Revenue from add-on products including GPS satellite navigation (€15/day or £15/day), child seats (€45.40 per rental), booster seats (€45.40 per rental), additional drivers (€11.35/day or £15/day), excess reduction waivers, windscreen cover (€6/day or £5/day), roadside assistance plus (€6/day or £9/day), personal accident insurance (€8/day or £9/day), and one-way rental fees.
4. Ex-Rental Car Sales: Budget Car Rental Ireland sells ex-rental cars at discounted prices through the carsales section of its website, with finance available from €99 deposit.
5. Cross-Border Coverage Fee: Fee charged for driving a rental car into Northern Ireland (from Republic of Ireland) at €34 or into Republic of Ireland (from Northern Ireland) at £30, covering cross-border vehicle retrieval in case of breakdown.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Budget Car Rental Ireland provides short-term (1–28 days) and long-term (1–3 months) vehicle rental services across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from 11+ airport and city centre locations. The core offering is a daily/weekly car hire service with all-inclusive pricing covering compulsory insurance, unlimited mileage, and 24-hour breakdown assistance, supported by a fleet ranging from economy to luxury including electric and hybrid vehicles.

Product overview

Budget Car Rental Ireland operates as a car rental service offering both consumer-facing booking (website and mobile app) and a range of vehicle categories from economy to luxury, including electric vehicles. The core rental product is supplemented by add-on modules including GPS navigation, child seats, and insurance products (Excess Reduction, Windscreen Cover, Roadside Assistance Plus, Personal Accident Insurance). Additional services include long-term rental via Budget Leasing, ex-rental car sales, and worldwide car hire through the global Budget franchise network spanning 125+ countries. The company also integrates with eFlow for automatic toll processing on the M50 motorway and uses Google Maps for location-based features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard Car Rental Core car rental service offering vehicles across multiple categories including economy, compact, intermediate, full size, automatic, station wagon, minibus, people carrier, four-wheel drive, and luxury vehicles, available at all major Irish airports and city centre locations for 1–28 day rentals.
• Electric Car Rental Electric vehicle rental fleet including Tesla Model 3, supplied with at least 80% battery charge, available for environmentally conscious tourists and business travellers across Ireland.
• Budget Mobile Application iPhone and Android mobile application enabling customers to book car hire and manage existing reservations directly from a smartphone, available on the App Store and Google Play.
• Satellite Navigation Rental Garmin GPS satellite navigation systems available as an add-on rental at EUR 15/day (Republic of Ireland) or GBP 15/day (Northern Ireland), helping tourists and visitors navigate Ireland's countryside.
• Child Seats and Booster Seats Child safety seats for ages 1–4 and booster seats for ages 5–12, available as pre-bookable add-ons for family travellers, priced at EUR 45.40 per rental (Republic of Ireland) or GBP 15 per day (Northern Ireland).
• Long-Term Car Rental (Budget Leasing) Extended car rental for 1–3 months offered via Budget Leasing, with full insurance included and a reduced EUR 250 excess, available at Dublin, Cork, Shannon airports and Dublin City Centre, Galway City, Killarney, and Roscommon Town.
• Ex-Rental Car Sales Sale of ex-rental Budget vehicles at discounted prices through the carsales section of budget.ie, with financing available from a EUR 99 deposit for retail buyers.
• Worldwide Car Hire International car rental services via the global Budget franchise network spanning 125+ countries with 3,900+ locations, allowing Irish customers to reserve vehicles in destinations such as London, Paris, New York, Edinburgh, Rome, and Faro.

Quantifiable outcome

• Unlimited mileage on all rentals with no hidden distance charges
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Lonely PlanetminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2016Budget Car Rental partnered with Lonely Planet to offer customers booking inbound leisure car hire in the USA and Canada up to 10% discount plus a free Lonely Planet drive guide. The offer was available on rentals booked and rented from 1st April to 31st December 2016 (though the offer is noted as no longer available).
• Avis Budget Group, Inc.coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBudget Car Rental Ireland operates as an independent franchise/licensee under license from Avis Budget Group, Inc. The parent company provides the Budget brand, systems, technology (including connected vehicle platform), and operational frameworks. The privacy notice states that Avis Budget Group is the Data Controller for data collected under the license from them, while Budget Ireland is the Data Controller for other personal data.
• ChubbminorOthersPersonal Accident Insurance offered as an optional add-on to car rentals is underwritten by Chubb. This is a standard insurance product partnership where Budget acts as a distribution channel for Chubb's personal accident insurance product.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hertz Ireland: Global premium car rental brand competing head-to-head at Irish airports and city locations with a comparable airport-concession-led model and overlapping customer base of inbound tourists and business travellers.
• Europcar Ireland: Pan-European rental brand with a substantial Irish airport and city footprint, directly competing on short-term leisure rentals, fleet categories, and travel-agent/B2B channels.
• Sixt Ireland: European premium rental brand with Irish airport locations, competing on fleet quality, premium segments, and digital booking experience — a direct alternative for inbound tourists and business travellers.
• Avis Ireland: Sister brand within the same Avis Budget Group family, operating under the same independent-licensee structure in Ireland with overlapping airport and city locations, fleet mix, and customer segments. Closest directly comparable peer.
• Thrifty Car Rental Ireland: Value-positioned sister brand to Dollar within the Hertz family, targeting the same budget-sensitive tourist and domestic customer base at Irish airports with a directly overlapping rate-card proposition.
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car Ireland: Major global rental operator with a strong Irish presence including airport and neighbourhood branches, targeting both leisure and business segments with a notably broad vehicle class lineup that overlaps Budget's core offering.
• Dollar Rent A Car Ireland: Value-tier brand of the Hertz global network operating at Irish airports, competing in the same budget-priced leisure rental segment as Budget Ireland with similar add-on and ancillary revenue structures.

Emerging players

• Keddy by Europcar: Lower-cost sub-brand of Europcar targeting budget leisure renters via broker channels; competes for the same price-sensitive tourist bookings that Budget captures through its travel-agent affiliate programme.

Broad incumbents

• Rentalcars.com: Global car rental aggregator (Booking Holdings) that distributes bookings from multiple operators including Budget; simultaneously a channel partner and a competitive force on price transparency and customer acquisition.

Regional players

• Dooley Rent-a-Car: Independent Irish-owned rental operator focused on Ireland and Northern Ireland with airport presence; a regional alternative for both inbound tourists and domestic renters competing in the same local market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/budget-car-rental

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Budget Car Rental