German car rental firm Sixt complains of vehicle shortage

Germany's biggest car rental firm, Sixt, is still not getting enough new cars to meet demand, the chief executive has said in a media interview, reported dpa.

"If we had more cars, we could do significantly more business," Alexander Sixt told the Handelsblatt business daily in comments to be published on Monday.

"For all market segments, we are assuming the same or increasing market volume in 2022, but with significantly fewer vehicles and with prices tending to rise as a result," he said.

The problem is shared across the entire automotive industry.

As a result of the Covid crisis and a global shortage of electronic chips, carmakers have been unable to meet demand from commercial and private customers for some time.

Nonetheless, Sixt has been able to profit strongly during the pandemic.

When its third-quarter results were presented in November, it became clear that it was heading towards a record profit in 2021, after the company, which is listed on Germany's SDAX second-tier index, narrowly avoided a loss-making 2020.

Sixt plans to present its annual figures in March.