Montana has a shortage of rental cars: 'We have tons of people moving to this area and vacationing here'

Montana is no exception to the car rental shortage that is currently happening throughout the country.

Tourists who will be visiting the state should try to book a car rental in advance if they do not intend to use public transportation once they get to the state — or find other alternatives.

“We have tons of people moving to this area and tons of people vacationing here,” Clark Nissan General Manager Audrey Knight told 8KPAX of Missoula and Western Montana.

As the country reopens, rental car facilities are feeling the pressure, 8KPAX reported. The shortage started when the pandemic hit the tourism industry last year. It negatively affected car rental companies: Reservations were canceled, employees were laid off and the companies were compelled to downsize their fleets.

Nissan dealerships in Missoula and Kalispell are renting cars out of their own fleets. Knight mentioned that Nissan “has had an opportunity for us to rent vehicles. Normally, we keep a small fleet to rent to the customers who have their car in the shop or in service or getting a warranty repair or something like that, so this is a program that Nissan has had for a long time.”

Apart from utilizing Uber or Lyft, tourists are renting trucks from U-Haul to tour around Montana.