Car Rental Mobile App Development: Building a Platform Like Hertz and Enterprise

Are you still using phone bookings and spreadsheets to manage your rental fleet? You might be losing more than just time.

The car rental industry has been growing a lot in recent years. According to Statista, the market revenue will reach $108.20 billion by 2025 and continue growing in the future.

The Good Firms 2023 survey found that online booking is the most popular car rental option. More than 75% of bookings are made through mobile applications, websites, social media booking pages, and chatbots.

Here is one more reason to invest in car rental app development. According to Statista, 72% of global vehicle rental revenue will come from online car booking by 2027.

What does this mean for your business?

This means that combining these two trends, mobility services and mobile technology, is no longer optional. It gives you a competitive advantage. Building a custom car rental app can help you make operations more efficient, improve customer satisfaction, and create new revenue streams.

And the best part? With the right tech partner, it won't take as much time and effort as you might think. But a car rental application can ensure a high ROI.

In this article, we’ll break down:

• What car rental apps are and how they work;
• Benefits of car rental mobile app development;
• What types of rental apps you can build;
• Step-by-step development of car rental applications;
• Key features of such apps;
• Common challenges to avoid when offering car rental services;
• Car rental application development cost breakdown.

Let’s go!

One of our cases involved developing a mobile app that helps users to compare prices and book bus tickets online. Check out what our client, Tino Marx, CTO at CheckMyBus, has to say about working with Stormotion:

The Enterprise app offers a similar approach, but its target audience is more business customers. The app’s features include pre-check-in, account management, and location-based services. Enterprise also supports short and long-term rentals to meet the needs of business people.

# 3: Ride Accept

Once the user selects the car, they upload their driver’s license, add extra services (insurance, child seat, etc.), and confirm the booking.

# 4: Traveling

Users enjoy their ride. But during emergencies, they can contact customer support via the app.

# 5: Total Cost Display

Car rental apps have no hidden costs. Users see the full breakdown of costs, including any additional charges or mileage, in the mobile application.

# 6: Final Payment

Such apps have multiple payment options to choose from. After selecting the option, the payment is processed automatically. Hertz, for example, allows users to store multiple cards and use loyalty points at checkout.

# 7: Return the Car

The return process depends on the service provider. Users can return to a branch, a specific location, or even a keyless drop-off.

# 8: Leave a Review

Users can rate the car, the service, and share feedback. You should encourage customers to do so by offering loyalty points, since ratings build trust with future renters.

# 2. Design

Now it’s time to bring your vision to life visually.

Your team will create wireframes and prototypes to map out the user journey, from opening the app to returning the car. The goal of this step? A clean and intuitive interface, as in Enterprise’s app, makes it easy to manage bookings and filter the available vehicles list.

You should also choose a branding style. Your colors, logo, and typography need to create a cohesive, trustworthy experience for future users.

# 3. Development

On this step, the car hire application development team comes into play.

They will choose the best tech stack and platform based on your preferences. You can decide to build a native app (separately for iOS and Android) or a cross-platform app (in this case, they can use React Native to develop a single app that works on both platforms).

The development process includes frontend (what users see), backend (what makes your app work), and third-party integrations like Stripe for payments and Google Maps API for navigation.

# 4. Testing

Before launch, your tech partner should stress-test the car rental app.

QA engineers will check everything from broken links to laggy checkouts. This step ensures users won’t get stuck trying to book a car. Testing covers multiple devices, operating systems, and scenarios like unstable internet connections or expired documents.

# 5. Deployment

Finally, you can release your app. You should submit it to the App Store and Google Play and wait for an approval decision. Don’t forget to prepare legal documents, such as Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and proper car rentals service licensing.

# 6. Support, Maintenance, and Marketing

Car rental app development services shouldn’t end after deployment, at least not in our company.

We assist clients with continuous support and app maintenance, like fixing bugs, adding new features, and improving performance.

And don’t forget marketing. App Store Optimization (ASO), paid campaigns, and referral programs can help you improve visibility and stay competitive.

How will it help your business grow?

The user journey begins with a search. By specifying the pick-up location, users check whether your app covers their location area. If yes, there's no doubt they'll pay for your services.

A well-implemented search functionality is necessary for good conversion rates, which determine how much revenue your application will generate.

# 2: Car Listing

You should also provide all relevant info about the cars. Our Stormotion developers recommend that you choose a minimalistic and simple UI for this screen.

In particular, here's what your audience expects to see the most:

1. Car model and year.
2. High-quality photos.
3. Price per day or other pricing, depending on your monetization strategy.
4. Additional information (type of transmission, air conditioning, number of seats, etc.).
5. Additional fees, if any (for example, a mandatory insurance/deposit fee or a young driver fee).
6. Fuel policy.

📌 According to the GoodFirms survey, 58.4% of people pay close attention to the daily mileage limit when choosing a car rental, since going over that limit often means extra fees.

A minimalistic and organized car listing is essential for user satisfaction. You can read our guide “How much does it cost to make an EV charging station finder app like PlugShare?” to plan for similar design features.

We mentioned earlier the importance of convenient filter functionality. Let’s take a look at the Turo example.

How will it help your business grow?

Filtering & Sorting is a natural extension of the car search process as it helps narrow down the results and find the most appropriate vehicle without having to go through the entire list.

This increases your chances of solving the user's pain point and converting them into a paying customer.

When a user sees an interesting offer, they're usually interested in learning more about it. That's when detailed information comes into play.

# 3: Detailed Information About a Car Offer

While scrolling through the list of results, your users will have a natural desire to tap an offer for more details. That’s why we see it as a part of the MVP scope. Beyond what they’ve already seen, your audience wants to read other car specifications.

For example, if you’re interested in Peer-to-Peer car hire app development, you can reuse Turo’s idea. The app has a separate “Description” field where car owners provide a full description of their vehicles’ features.

If you're a B2B or B2C company, it will be enough to provide general info about the car, pricing, fuel policy, and additional services that you can offer.

📌 According to the GoodFirms survey, 75.3% of people pay attention to a car’s comfort and quality when choosing which rental service to use.

As people want more environmentally friendly ways to get around, adding features that support emobility meaning, like renting electric vehicles and finding charging stations, can make your car rental app one of the best ways to get around in an eco-friendly way.

How will it help your business grow?

Detailed info about the available vehicles helps build trust and transparency for your app, which directly impacts booking decisions.

# 4: Push Notifications

We always include push notification services in the roadmaps of the MVPs our team works on. How to use them in your mobile app for a car rental business? Here are a few ideas:

1. Send a friendly reminder to customers 24 and 6 hours before their reservation, so they don't miss it.
2. If the user hasn't made a reservation yet, notify them about new car options in their search area that match their requests.
3. Encourage users who have abandoned their reservations to complete them.
4. Notify users when their rental period is about to end.
5. Send info about discounts or other appealing offers.

How will it help your business grow?
Push notifications are extremely useful for retargeting and keeping a high retention rate. In other words, it means more closed deals, more customers who return to finish abandoned orders, and more satisfied users.

📌 Read our article about EV charging station app development to learn more about the modern market for electric vehicle applications!

# 5: In-App Document Work

In-app document upload is a must-have for modern car rental services. For example, renters can securely upload their driver’s license, ID, or payment confirmations. On the other side, car owners or your internal team can review these documents, validate them, and even request additional files if needed.

You don’t need to add automated verification tools to your MVP app. But you can do that in later releases to speed up the process and reduce the risk of fraud.

How will it help your business grow?

This feature helps you reduce the rental process issues with document verification. A smoother workflow also leads to faster bookings and happier customers.

# 6: In-App Calls

Sometimes, users need to clarify pickup details or ask a quick question about the car. In-app calling makes that easy by letting renters and owners connect directly, without leaving the app or exposing personal phone numbers. It keeps the experience seamless, secure, and professional.

How will it help your business grow?

The in-app calls function gives you better control over user interactions. It also helps prevent misunderstandings and improve customer trust, which leads to higher satisfaction and repeat bookings.

# 7: Secure Payment Gateway

When users choose a suitable car, you should help them finish their reservations and turn them into paying customers.

📌 This step is equally critical in scooter sharing app development, where users need a quick payment experience to finalize their scooter rentals.

Additionally, this is the right moment to let your users choose a more suitable payment option for them: either to pay during pick-up or online.

Despite your audience has already gotten that far, 2025 statistics show the abandonment rate at the checkout stage is about 70%. Here are some tips to help you minimize the risk that a user will change their mind and leave the reservation unfinished:

1. Don't ask people to sign up before you've processed their payment.
2. The more payment options you have, the higher the chances of satisfying your audience.
3. People don't like to share their personal data. Try to ask as little of it as possible. Also, make sure that your app complies with the privacy regulations in the area where you do business (GDPR, for example).
4. Make the whole process transparent. Always show the final price without any hidden taxes or fees.
5. Use retargeting strategies to bring the customer back in case they haven’t finished the purchase.

How will it help your business grow?

At this point, a user has almost made a decision. They just need a little encouragement to be sure they made the right choice. The list of benefits on this screen can convince a user to rent a car from your app.

This screen is also great for generating additional revenue. You can offer different extras (special equipment or services) that can turn into a separate and significant source of income.

Advanced Tip: Include User Profiles in your car hire app development process. It will allow users to link their personal data with private accounts and quickly reuse it during future rentals.

Fleet and Driver Management Features

Now, let’s move to the in-app features that can help you manage your daily operations.

# 8: Robust Fleet Tracking

For safety and operations, you should know where each vehicle is at any moment. With GPS-based fleet tracking, a small device installed in the car sends real-time location data to your system. This helps you monitor usage, manage pickups and returns, and act quickly in case of emergencies or unauthorized use.

How will it help your business grow?

Real-time tracking gives you full visibility over your fleet, reducing the risk of theft and misuse. It also boosts operational efficiency, enabling smoother logistics and better customer service.

# 9: Zone Set-Up

Zone set-up allows you to define specific areas of your car rental service operation. It can be a city center, airport, or high-demand area. You can also run local promos or adjust pricing based on location to attract more users.

How will it help your business grow?

Smart zone management can help you target high-traffic areas, optimize fleet distribution, and boost visibility through local offers. This leads to more bookings and a better user experience.

# 10: Real-Time Analytics & Statistics

Car rental app development services are not only about creating a booking tool. You create a primary source for real-time data about your business operations. With interactive stats, your team can analyze the number of rented cars, user behavior, churn rate, high-demand seasons, etc. Based on this data, you can prepare marketing campaigns, target a wider audience, and scale your business.

How will it help your business grow?

Real-time interactive statistics enable you to spot opportunities to optimize revenue. These insights will help you adjust your pricing strategy, respond faster to demand changes, and make smarter business decisions.

Admin and Security Features

Excapt the UI and UX solutions for your car rental mobile app, creating mobile applications for connected car ecosystem requires robust integration with a massive backend where all data is stored.

To manage the work between the mobile app and web databases, you’ll need the Admin Panel. Plus, we’ll explore one more important feature for you and your end users.

# 11: Admin Panel

If you already own a website, you know what the Administration Panel is all about. Its essential features are:

• Car Management: add and delete vehicles, update car specifications, etc.
• Payment Management: makes the whole transaction system transparent by storing payment details and allowing you to set such parameters as reservation rates, the price of extra services, and so on.
• Customer Management: confirm or reject reservations and store different data associated with a particular user.
• Analytics Dashboard: shows how your business performs (daily/monthly reservations and revenue, the number and statuses of current leases, etc.).

Although the Admin Panel is “invisible” to users, it actually determines how effectively you, as an owner, will be able to manage your business through the app.

But remember the MVP approach: only you and a couple of your employees will use it, so there’s no need to invest in the fancy design. Just build it using Bootstrap or similar.

# 12: Panic Button

If you’re in a new place or traveling with strangers, you can often ask: “What to do in the case of an emergency?” The same question may have your users, since they drive a rented car and can feel anxious.

The best you can do for their peace of mind is to add a Panic Button during car hire app development. With just one tap, your customers can immediately notify your support team or local emergency services if they feel unsafe or if something goes wrong during the trip.

# 6: Complicated Payment Systems

One of the golden business rules: allow your customers to choose the payment method they like and make the payment process as simple as possible.

During car rental mobile app development, your Tech Partner can advise you on what payment methods you should add in the first place. They will also integrate a secure payment gateway with a simple and fast checkout process.

If you want to cater to a wider audience that prefers traditional methods, you can add cash payment options and on-site credit card terminals.

# 7: Vehicle Return Hassles

Don’t make returning a vehicle a complicated process. You can use the best practices of Airbnb. Customers can upload return photos and submit digital damage reports in the mobile app. This reduces stress for you and your users.

💰 Cost to Build a car Rental App

As always, we provide you with an approximate estimate of on-demand car rental app development:

To calculate the price, we used the average hourly rate for Eastern Europe - $50/hour. However, the price (and the needed time as well) of car hire app development may greatly vary on many factors, like the app type (native or cross-platform) and the number and complexity of features you want to include.

If you want to get a more accurate estimate for your project, drop us a line! After asking some details and going through the Project Discovery Stage, we'll be able to give you a more precise estimate of costs for developing a car rental app.