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How to decide how many compacts, SUVs and people movers to run, using revenue per unit, holding cost and real airport rate gaps by car type.
By the DayRunner team ·
Plan your fleet mix on profit per car per day, not on rate. For each car type, multiply the rate you can get by how often the car is out, then take off what it costs to hold. The type with the higher number earns the next car you buy, as long as demand for it holds up.
This guide walks through the maths, with real market rates by car type and a template you can copy.
SUVs cost more to hire. In the Rate Pulse sweep they did at almost every airport. But they also cost more to buy, insure and run, and in your market fewer customers may want them. A car that earns $300 a day but sits in the yard half the month can earn less than one that earns $190 and is out most days.
The measure that settles it is revenue per unit: revenue per car, per calendar day, whether it's out or not. It's the same idea as revenue per day, spread across every day the car is on fleet.
The typical (median) daily rate by car type, from the Rate Pulse sweep of 7 Nov 2026, for pick-ups from 8 to 21 Nov. All in NZD, 3-day hires.
| Airport | Compact | SUV | SUV premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | $139 | $206 | 48% |
| Christchurch | $192 | $298 | 55% |
| Queenstown | $210 | $298 | 42% |
| Brisbane | $106 | $150 | 42% |
| Sydney | $96 | $133 | 39% |
| Melbourne | $80 | $142 | 78% |
| London Heathrow | $75 | $104 | 39% |
| Madrid | $62 | $80 | 29% |
| Lisbon | $26 | $28 | 8% |
| Athens | $38 | $37 | -3% |
The gap swings a lot. At Melbourne an SUV fetched 78% more than a compact. At Athens it fetched slightly less. Lisbon barely paid more. So a mix that works in Christchurch could lose money in Lisbon.
This is one November snapshot. Premiums will move with the season, so check it again in peak. The car category price gaps research covers every airport and category.
Also look at the spread by day. At Christchurch the SUV median ran from $274 to $326 across the 14 pick-up days, and the compact from $159 to $206. Both moved. Neither was flat.
Group your fleet into the same categories the market uses. See car category mapping and ACRISS codes.
Average achieved rate per hire day and fleet utilisation by month, from your booking system.
Depreciation, finance, insurance, registration and servicing, divided by days on fleet.
Rate × utilisation minus holding cost.
The utilisation each dearer type needs to match the cheaper one.
Check your turn-away and sold-out days by type before adding cars.
The rates below are the Christchurch medians from the sweep. The costs and utilisation are hypothetical. Say you run 30 compacts and 10 SUVs.
| Line | Compact | SUV |
|---|---|---|
| Market typical rate per day | $192 | $298 |
| Your utilisation | 80% | 70% |
| Revenue per car per calendar day | $153.60 | $208.60 |
| Holding cost per car per day | $40 | $62 |
| Profit per car per day | $113.60 | $146.60 |
On these numbers the SUV earns $33 more per car per day. So the next car you buy should probably be an SUV.
Now the break-even. For an SUV to match a compact's $113.60, it needs ($113.60 + $62) ÷ $298 = 59% utilisation. If your SUVs run at 70%, you have room. If they drop under 59% in winter, the compact wins those months.
Run the same sum for each season. A car type that wins in summer can lose in winter, and that's what decides whether you sell some down after peak.
One row per car type. Fill it per season.
| Car type | Cars | Market typical rate | Your achieved rate | Utilisation | Revenue per car per day | Holding cost per day | Profit per car per day | Break-even utilisation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | ||||||||
| Compact | ||||||||
| SUV | ||||||||
| 7 to 8 seat |
Formulas:
Rate Pulse shows advertised prices, the rates on offer when we searched. Your achieved rate will be lower after discounts and broker commission. Use the market rate to see the gap between types, and your own data for the profit sum.
That's the split fleet mix planning needs: the market tells you what each type can fetch, your bookings tell you how often it goes out. Putting the two together each week, by car type and depot, is part of our revenue management work.
No. They earn more per hire day at most airports in the sweep, but they cost more to hold. If they sit idle more often, a compact can make more per car. Work out the break-even utilisation for your own costs.
Properly once a year, before you order cars for the next season. Check it each quarter against utilisation by car type, and move cars between depots before you buy more.
Rate Pulse shows the typical and cheapest daily rate by car category for each pick-up day over the next 14 days, at 18 airports. It's free.
Forecasting, rate management and booking-system integration, scoped to how you run.