Medium-term rental company Meridian says it has seen fairly consistent demand in the days leading up to the coronavirus lockdown, with signs that bookings will continue.
MD Phil Jerome said: “The parts of the economy that are staying open are very busy, whether that be food retailers or workers directly involved in the fight against coronavirus. There is a need for immediate transport for some people and we are helping to satisfy that.
“It’s very much a two-speed fleet economy but the fact that we remain relatively optimistic means that, even in the last few days, we have ordered almost 100 additional cars for our fleet. We’re expecting ongoing demand.”
The company does foresee potential issues in the future, as the majority of its cars are delivered new from dealers. Since a lot of dealers have closed and European car production almost completely stopped, safely processing and sending out cars may turn out to be an issue.
Jerome commented: “while we wouldn’t have wished to find ourselves in this situation, for anyone who needs a car for work or other purposes for a few months and either can’t order a new vehicle because of restrictions or doesn’t want to make a commitment, our product appears to be the best-placed option.”