Economic Impact Alert Over Car Rental Restrictions in Mallorca

The National Business Federation of Vehicle Rental (FENEVAL) has expressed its strong opposition to the draft law proposal presented by the Consell de Mallorca.

This regulation, following steps already implemented in Formentera and Ibiza, aims to limit vehicle circulation on the island and includes fines of up to 30,000 euros for violators, causing deep concern in the car rental sector.

FENEVAL highlights the lack of real information about the circulating vehicle fleet in Mallorca. The federation has requested that, before implementing any restrictive measures, precise and updated data be collected to make realistic decisions and avoid the errors already observed in Ibiza, where initial load studies proved incorrect after the application process.

The proposed limitations, set to come into effect at the start of summer 2026, will focus on vehicles not domiciled in Mallorca.

Juan Luis Barahona, executive president of FENEVAL, has warned that this regulation "affects freedom of movement in Spain and harms the economic interests of companies." Barahona demands that "public administrations must assume their patrimonial responsibility for the economic consequences that this decision may entail."

The measure not only seeks to limit vehicle ownership through a fee for those who do not pay taxes in the Balearic Islands but will also apply an annual or biennial quota with preference for less polluting vehicles. This point directly clashes with the reality of Rent a Car (RAC) fleets, whose average age is 2.2 years (compared to 14.5 years for the rest of the market) and where 50% of their vehicles are already considered ECO. For these reasons, FENEVAL considers it a discriminatory measure against their business model.

The regulation will also have a significant impact on people who, while owning a home in Mallorca, do not permanently reside on the island. To drive, these owners must have a vehicle registered fiscally at the island address and, moreover, can only have one car per home, further limiting their mobility options.

FENEVAL insists that it is crucial to adapt the entire mobility system of the island before drastically reducing the number of rental vehicles. The federation emphasizes that reducing these vehicles will not have a real impact on the tourist saturation that the Consell claims to want to mitigate. Additionally, they express surprise that the Ibiza model is being replicated, a model against which the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has already announced actions for contravening competition rules.

Uncertainty persists over whether these measures will only apply during the summer period or if, on the contrary, they will be in effect throughout the year, which would further exacerbate the economic and operational consequences for the sector. FENEVAL, representing 96% of the vehicle rental sector in Spain, with over 800 companies and a fleet of more than 500,000 vehicles, requests urgent dialogue with the Consell de Mallorca to prevent the approval of a regulation that could be severely detrimental to the island.