Europcar Review

Last updated: 29 July 2026

Short answer: Europcar is the only direct supplier we list — you book the rental company itself, not a broker reselling its cars. Through our programme it covers the United States and Canada, with its own airport desks at San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Denver, Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas. The catch is payment: a credit card in the main driver's name is mandatory, and debit or prepaid cards are refused at the counter. Checked July 2026.

What Is Europcar?

Europcar was founded in Paris in 1949 by Raoul-Louis Mattei, originally under the name "The Automobile Subscription"; the Europcars brand followed in 1951. That makes it one of the oldest continuously operating rental brands in the market. Since July 2022 the group has been owned by Green Mobility Holding, a consortium led by Volkswagen Group together with Attestor and Pon Holdings. Keddy is its lower-cost leisure sub-brand.

The company operates in roughly 140 to 150 countries across Europe, North America, Western Asia and Africa, with more than 3,300 rental locations. Unlike the aggregators elsewhere on this site, Europcar owns and manages its own fleet and counters in its core markets.

Broker or Supplier? Why It Matters

Every other platform we compare — Localrent, Economybookings, QEEQ, Europcar, GetRentacar — is an intermediary. They search inventory belonging to somebody else and hand you a voucher. Europcar is the somebody else. In practice this changes three things:

• The counter staff work for the same company that took your booking, so there is no second set of terms waiting at pickup.
• Availability shown is the supplier's own, not a cached feed — fewer "the car you booked is unavailable" surprises.
• Prices are rarely the lowest on the market, because there is no local operator undercutting the brand.

Coverage in the United States

Europcar maintains stations at major US hubs including Seattle, Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, Denver, Los Angeles and Dallas airports, alongside city-centre and suburban locations. Canada is covered by the same programme.

Outside North America Europcar operates widely, but the affiliate programme we link to is scoped to the US and Canada — for a European or Asian trip, one of the brokers on this site will serve you better.

Payment Rules — Read This Before Booking

Europcar in the United States requires the main driver to present a major credit card in their own name. It is used for the booking, for the security deposit, and must be produced again at the desk. Accepted cards are MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Diners Club.

The following are not accepted: cash, prepaid cards, debit cards, electronic cards, and any credit card belonging to a third party. If a debit card is all you have, GetRentacar accepts Visa and Mastercard debit and is the practical alternative.

Licence and Documents

You need the ordinary driving licence issued by your country of residence, held for the minimum period required by local rules. It is checked at every rental. An International Driving Permit becomes mandatory when your licence is written in a language or script that cannot be read in the rental country — this applies to most non-Latin-alphabet licences.

Practical Details

• Extensions: possible subject to vehicle availability. Contact the pickup station or the local call centre; the extra days are charged at the local daily rate.
• Pets: allowed in the vehicles. Other live animals require written permission from the station.
• Deposit: taken on the credit card at pickup; the amount depends on vehicle class and location.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Direct supplier — one company from booking to key handover
• Own desks at seven major US airports, not an off-site shuttle operator
• 75+ years in the business, backed by the Volkswagen-led ownership group
• Fleet and availability are the supplier's own rather than a resold feed

Cons

• Credit card in the driver's name is mandatory — no debit, prepaid or third-party cards
• Rarely the cheapest option; local operators undercut brand pricing
• Through this programme, US and Canada only
• The booking site is not mobile-optimised, which shows on a phone

Who Should Use Europcar?

Use it for a US or Canadian trip when you value a guaranteed car from a named brand over the last twenty dollars — business travel, family trips with fixed plans, or any itinerary where a failed pickup would be expensive. Skip it if you are renting outside North America, if price is the deciding factor, or if you do not hold a credit card in your own name.

Our Verdict

Europcar is the counterweight to the rest of this site. Everything else here optimises for price by putting an intermediary between you and the car; Europcar removes the intermediary and charges for the certainty. For most European and Asian destinations that trade is not worth it, because the local brokers have deeper inventory. For the United States it often is — provided you can pay with a credit card.