Enterprise dethroned National from the top of J.D. Power's annual 2025 North American Car Rental Satisfaction Study, J.D. Power announced Wednesday.
Enterprise was No. 1 in the J.D. Power survey with a score of 734 out of a possible 1,000 points, and National was No. 2 with 721 points. The two brands traded places at the top for the second year in a row.
Enterprise's score improved by five points year over year, while National's declined by 15. Advantage and Sixt tied for third place with 711 points, representing a nine-point increase and three-point increase, respectively, compared with 2024. The overall customer satisfaction score for the industry was 691, an increase from 688 reported last year.
The scores are based on a survey conducted from August 2024-August 2025 of 8,263 business and leisure travelers who rented a vehicle at an airport location. The study looks at car rental customer experience across seven categories, in order of importance: ease of rental, pick-up/drop-off, level of trust, vehicle, staff, value for price paid and digital tools.
This year's biggest gains were seen in perceived value, increasing nine points from 2024, and the app/website reservation experience, gaining six points, J.D. Power rental car practice lead Azari Jones wrote in an email. This shows that "travelers are responding positively to improvements in digital convenience and overall value for money. This is something that is relevant for both consumer and business travel."
The study also found that 80 percent of customers still visit the rental counter first as opposed to saving "seven minutes and 57 seconds," the average amount of time gained by skipping the counter and going directly to the lot to collect a vehicle, according to J.D. Power.
Overall satisfaction among customers who go directly to their cars is 704 compared with 662 who make the rental counter their first stop. In particular, the average pick-up/drop-off satisfaction score among those who bypass the counter was 722 versus 663 for those who don't.
"Given options of loyalty programs, kiosks and rental car company apps, there are more ways than ever to bypass the rental car counter, and customers who take advantage of that added convenience are enjoying the benefits," Jones said in a statement. "But for one reason or another, many customers are choosing to take the extra time to engage with representatives at the rental counter. The key for rental car companies looking to maximize customer satisfaction is to clearly communicate the value of direct pick-up for time-pressed travelers, and to add value at the counter by delivering personalized service and more fully addressing customers' questions and concerns."
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