Fleet mix

Fleet mix is how your fleet splits across car categories: how many economy, compact, SUV, people carriers and so on. Getting it right means each category earns its keep, with no long queues for one type and no rows of another sitting idle.

Formula

Compare categories on what each car earns per day after its own cost:

Margin per car per day = (rate × utilisation) − daily holding cost

Holding cost is depreciation or lease, insurance, registration and finance, divided by days in the year.

Worked example

Market rates are real. At Queenstown in the Rate Pulse sweep of 7 Nov 2026, the typical SUV was NZ$298 a day and the typical compact NZ$210. See the Queenstown page. One snapshot in a November shoulder period.

The rest is hypothetical. Say an SUV costs you NZ$75 a day to hold and a compact NZ$45, and you price at the market typical.

The SUV earns more per day but less after cost, at these utilisations. Push SUV utilisation to 70% and its margin rises to NZ$134, ahead of the compact. So the answer turns on utilisation, which is why you plan mix from your own booking data.

Why it matters for a rental operator

Fleet is your biggest cost, and you buy it months ahead. The wrong mix shows up as a category that's always sold out at a rate you could have lifted, next to one you're discounting to move.

See it in Rate Pulse

Each airport page shows the typical daily rate for every car category side by side. Use it to see what each category commands in your market. Start at Rate Pulse.