Mar Fuentes takes over as Feneval approaches its 50th anniversary in 2027. Her priorities include improving public recognition of car rental and building a stronger working relationship with Spain’s administrations.
Feneval introduced Mar Fuentes as its new president on 21 October at its 2026 congress in Sanxenxo, Galicia. Held under the theme “El latido de la movilidad” (“The pulse of mobility”), the event brought together business representatives and mobility professionals, alongside associations and institutions. The change comes ahead of the federation’s 50th anniversary in 2027.
Fuentes wants rental-car companies to be recognised for their role in Spain’s economy and mobility, beyond providing vehicles for individual journeys. She argues that the service connects territories and supports tourist travel, while also contributing to economic activity across the country. Europa Press reported that she aims to strengthen the sector’s standing and ensure public perceptions reflect its professionalisation and focus on service quality.
That recognition is a stated priority, not an outcome already secured. Her other central commitment is to strengthen dialogue with public administrations and businesses across the sector’s value chain. Feneval represents companies providing vehicle rental with and without a driver, and presents the sector as part of the wider mobility system.
The policy question is practical: Feneval wants a regulatory framework that accounts for the rental sector’s specific characteristics, makes it easier for companies to operate and supports mobility solutions that are efficient and accessible, with sustainability also in view. The federation says it intends to work constructively with institutions towards those aims. Fuentes has also called for closer engagement with public authorities and other participants in the mobility value chain, as reported by Faro de Vigo.
Fuentes brings more than three decades of experience in vehicle rental and mobility. She began her career at Hertz España in 1989 and later became its director of Operations for Spain. At Hertz she was also a member of the management committee, overseeing 82 corporate offices alongside the franchise network and helping shape operational and workforce-management strategy.
From 2023 to February 2026, she served as director of Operations at Record Go for several European markets. She sat on its management committee and led work covering customer service and purchasing, while also overseeing infrastructure and the company’s training and outsourced services.
Her association experience spans regional organisations. Fuentes has been vice-president of Galeval (Asociación Empresarial de Alquiler de Vehículos Con y Sin Conductor de Galicia) since 2018. Since 2025, she has also served as a board member of Apeca (Asociación Profesional de Empresarios de Coches de Alquiler de Canarias).
Figures from the Asociación Española de Renting de Vehículos offer a snapshot of the wider Spanish vehicle-mobility market: at the end of the third quarter of 2026, the long-term renting fleet exceeded 1.08 million vehicles, up 8% year on year, while the number of clients rose 9.04% to 293,194. Renting accounted for 282,438 vehicle registrations from January to September, or 26.09% of all registrations in Spain. These figures relate to long-term renting rather than Feneval’s rental-car segment.
The debate over mobility services in Spain also includes planned robotaxi trials in Madrid by Waymo and Uber, covered in this report on the trials. Feneval’s immediate agenda, however, is closer cooperation with administrations and greater recognition of rental companies’ contribution to mobility and economic activity.
