When embarking on a trip, tourists looking to rent a car may choose their vehicle based on a variety of factors. They might seek a familiar, trusted name or a car they have driven before. Whatever the reason for their choice, new research has revealed that in Croatia, Volkswagen is the most popular car brand for rentals, and it’s also the second most popular brand worldwide.

Car rental booking company DiscoverCars.com analyzed its internal data to find out which car brands are currently the most popular for rentals in Croatia and globally. They reviewed data from all bookings for July 2024 across nearly 200 countries and U.S. states.

The data showed that 28% of people traveling to Croatia rented a Volkswagen, with 9% of them choosing the VW Polo, making it the most popular model. The second most popular car brand in Croatia was Opel, followed by Peugeot.

Volkswagen Group owns the Bugatti brand, which in 2021 entered a joint venture with the Croatian car brand Rimac. The first joint car, the Bugatti Rimac, was released in 2022—the Bugatti W16 Mistral, a luxury sports car that can reach speeds of 418.4 km/h. However, the most popular rental car models for vacations were not sports cars—most travelers favored small and compact city cars like the VW Polo.

Overall, the most popular car brand globally was Fiat, with 20% of tourists booking this brand worldwide. It was the top choice in ten different countries, including its home country of Italy, where it led in mainland Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia. Outside of Europe, it was also popular in Brazil, where 31% of tourists chose Fiat. The most popular model was the Fiat Panda, a compact city car that accounted for nearly half of all Fiat bookings with 41%.

Globally, the second most popular car brand after Fiat was Volkswagen, chosen by 10% of travelers. While fewer tourists selected this brand overall, it gained more popularity in countries where it was a top choice. Like in Croatia, Volkswagen was the most popular car brand in 21 destinations across Europe, Africa, South America, and North America, including three U.S. states. It was especially loved in its home country, Germany, where the most popular model was the small and compact VW Polo, accounting for 38% of all bookings.

In third place, 9% of all tourists chose Toyota, which was also the most popular brand in 24 different countries and U.S. states. Countries in Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Africa chose Toyota more frequently than any other brand. Over a third of all Toyota bookings were for the Toyota Aygo, with 35% of tourists opting for this compact city car.

The next most popular brand was Peugeot. Five countries and 8% of all travelers chose this French brand, which was most popular in France, making up 33% of all bookings in its home country. With 33% of all Peugeot bookings, the Peugeot 208 was the favored model among tourists—a small, compact city car.

Rounding out the top five was Renault, chosen by 6% of all travelers. It was the brand of choice in nine countries and U.S. states, with the Renault Clio being the most popular model, as 40% of people selecting Renault opted for the popular small car.

Aleksandrs Buraks, Head of Growth at DiscoverCars.com, says: “As an international company, DiscoverCars.com thought it would be interesting to review our internal data to find out which car brands are currently the most popular for rentals worldwide.”

“We analyzed our data in 2022 and found that Toyota and Volkswagen were the most popular at that time—it seems that since then, Fiat has joined the leaders! It was also interesting to see that for each of these brands, the most popular model is often a small city car, which is easier to navigate through narrow streets, easier to park, and more fuel-efficient than a large vehicle.”