Jordan Rental Car Agencies Face Closures Under New Licensing Rules

Amman - New regulations for licensing vehicle rental services in Jordan could force the closure of a significant number of agencies, industry representatives warn.

Marwan Akoubeh, head of the car rental agencies association, stated on Wednesday that the revised licensing system for tourist vehicle rentals came as a surprise and poses a serious threat to the sector.

Akoubeh told local media that the new system could lead to the closure of 60% of tourist vehicle rental offices, while weakening the remaining businesses. He emphasized that increasing the capital requirements for offices places an unnecessary burden on rental agencies.

He further argued that raising the guarantee value to 15,000 dinars is unwarranted, especially considering that the sector has not previously faced violations requiring the use of the previous 2,000 dinar guarantee.

Akoubeh called for addressing the issue of parallel markets, represented by private cars and ride-sharing applications, which compete unfairly with licensed car rental offices.