Car rental at ExCeL London

You need car rental at ExCeL London, and we deliver the car to the venue itself — the address, date and time agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed. Our fleet on this page runs to 147 cars, from £22 a day, across 14 classes and 32 brands.

Car rental at ExCeL London

Car rental at ExCeL London works the same way: we bring the car to you instead of asking you to find a desk across town. For ExCeL London that means the exhibition centre itself and the hotels along Royal Victoria Dock, where most visitors to a show stay. The address, the date and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.

Rent-Trip delivers the car to any address in the city, including ExCeL London and the hotels around it. You give us the address when you book; we confirm the date and the time in the same conversation, and the car arrives at that address. In our practice the delivery slot matters more than the address — a show morning at the venue is not the moment to be waiting in a lobby, so ask the manager for a drop the evening before. The delivery address, the date and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed; until they are, the car does not leave.

Car hire or car rental near the exhibition centre

In British usage car hire and car rental mean the same thing: a self-drive car hired and returned under one arrangement. British English also changes the vocabulary around the car — petrol rather than gas, motorway rather than highway, an estate rather than a station wagon, the boot rather than the trunk. Our own pages keep the site's usual wording, and the fleet is described the British way.

Delivery points we cover around the venue

• Other addresses: St Pancras & King's Cross, Euston, Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo, Canary Wharf, Wembley and Mayfair are all inside the delivery area.
• Addresses outside London: arranged case by case and not promised on the site, so ask the manager before you count on it.

One point worth knowing before you drive away: the city's road charges are not settled by the booking itself. The Congestion Charge runs 07:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00–18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays, at £18 per day when paid on the day or in advance and £21 when paid by midnight on the third day after the trip; ULEZ applies 24 hours a day across all 32 boroughs at £12.50 per day for vehicles that do not meet the emission standards. Who pays those charges on a hired car is agreed when booking — check it with the manager rather than assuming, since an unpaid charge brings a PCN of £180 under TfL rules, £90 if paid within 14 days.

Choosing a car rental at ExCeL London by trip and group size

The choice starts from people and luggage, not from the price list. With 147 cars in 14 classes, from Economy at £22 a day to Exotic at £954, the right question is how many seats you need and what the boot has to swallow.

Classes and models by trip

Five-seat cars cover most trips: the Hyundai Kona and Kia Rio at £36 and £31 a day, the Volkswagen Golf Estate at £31, and the Toyota Yaris hybrid at £25. A seven-seat minivan such as the Volkswagen Sharan at £44 only pays off when the whole group travels together — otherwise a Comfort estate carries four people and their bags for less.

Automatic, hybrid and electric options

101 of the 147 cars on this page are automatic, 46 are manual, so nobody has to relearn a gearbox on unfamiliar roads. Electric models number 10, including the Volkswagen ID.4 at £171 a day and the Mercedes-Benz EQA at £171. Petrol accounts for 100 cars, diesel for 24 and hybrid for 13. Electric driving suits a fixed daily route: charge overnight, drive in, plug in again. The hybrid Toyota Yaris and Toyota Corolla are automatics that never depend on finding a charger — in our experience that matters on a short London visit, when a day is split between the exhibition centre and a hotel.

Seats for families and groups

• Two seats: 15 cars, including the Mercedes-Benz SL 43 AMG at £195 and the Porsche Boxster at £275 — a pair travelling light.
• Four seats: 18 cars, including the Fiat 500 at £22 and the Mini Cooper at £37, plus convertibles such as the Audi A3 Cabriolet at £80.
• Five seats: 98 cars — the default for a family of four with luggage.
• Seven seats: 9 vehicles, including the Kia Sorento hybrid at £49 and the Volkswagen Touran at £65.
• Eight and nine seats: the Mercedes-Benz Vito 8 Seater at £132, the Ford Tourneo at £90 and the Volkswagen Transporter 9 Seater at £168 a day.
• Twelve and seventeen seats: the Ford Transit 12 Seater at £132 and Ford Transit 17 Seater at £138 — the largest vehicles on this page.

For a group of nine or more, book the passenger van before the trip is confirmed: only four such vehicles sit on this page, and the seventeen-seater is a single car.

What a car rental at ExCeL London costs for a week or a month

Car hire at ExCeL London starts at £22 a day and runs to £3,300 a day for the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. A week is charged at the daily rate times six, from £132, and a month at the daily rate times 21, from £462. Nothing about the multiplier changes with the class you pick — it is the same arithmetic on a Kia Rio and on a Rolls-Royce.

Daily rates by class

Weekly and monthly bookings

A week is charged at the daily rate times six, from £132, and a month at the daily rate times 21, from £462. The multiplier is fixed at six for seven days and 21 for thirty, so a Comfort class estate at £31 a day works out at £186 for the week and £651 for the month. The cheapest cars on this page, the Citroen C3 Aircross and Fiat 500 at £22 a day, give £132 weekly and £462 monthly — those are the lowest figures on this page. The most expensive, the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ at £3,300 a day, multiplies the same way. In our practice, most exhibition visitors book three to five days and never reach the weekly rate at all; the multiplier only starts to matter when the stay runs past six days. Count the total from the daily price of the exact model you want, not from the class «from» figure — a class floor is the cheapest car in that group, not a typical one.

What the rate covers and what is settled separately

Fuel runs full-to-full: the car comes clean with a full tank and must go back full, otherwise the missing fuel and a refuelling service fee are charged as set out in the rental agreement. No pre-paid tank or full-to-empty option exists on this page. The deposit, the insurance excess, any delivery fee and any discount are likewise set out in the rental agreement and are never a number quoted in advance.

Road charges are the part drivers ask about most, and they are worth knowing before you fix a date:

• Congestion Charge: £18 per day when paid on the day of travel or in advance, £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after; runs 07:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00–18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays.
• ULEZ: £12.50 per day for vehicles that do not meet the emission standard, charged 24 hours a day, seven days a week, apart from 25 December, across all 32 boroughs.
• Dartford Crossing (Dart Charge): £3.50 per crossing for a car, £2.80 if you pre-pay, payable by midnight the following day.
• Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels: £4.20 at peak, £1.55 off-peak with Auto Pay, in force from 21 September 2026.

Who pays those charges on a hire car is agreed when booking — it is not something this page settles for you. Ask the manager about it in the same conversation where you confirm the delivery address, the date and the time, because the answer depends on the route you plan and the car you choose. A diesel SUV going out to the M25 and back is a different conversation from an electric hatchback staying inside the congestion zone.

Driving a car rental at ExCeL London

ExCeL London sits inside the Ultra Low Emission Zone, a short run from the Blackwall Tunnel and the Congestion Charge boundary. Two charges, one tunnel toll and a set of motorway limits decide most of what a driver needs to know before leaving the Royal Victoria Dock. We hand over the keys with a full tank and expect the same back.

Charges that apply around the Docklands

• ULEZ: £12.50 a day for a non-compliant car, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week except 25 December, across all 32 boroughs since 29 August 2023.
• Congestion Charge: £18 a day paid on the day or in advance, £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after, 07:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00–18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays.
• Dartford Crossing: £3.50 for a car per crossing, £2.80 prepaid, payable by midnight the following day.
• Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels: £4.20 at peak northbound 06:00–10:00 and southbound 16:00–19:00 on weekdays, £1.55 off-peak with Auto Pay.

The Congestion Charge zone begins at the Inner Ring Road — Pentonville Road, City Road, Old Street, Commercial Street, Mansell Street, Tower Bridge Road, New Kent Road, Elephant & Castle, Kennington Lane, Vauxhall Bridge Road, Park Lane, Edgware Road, Marylebone Road, Euston Road — and those roads themselves sit outside or on the boundary. Note that the Cleaner Vehicle Discount for electric cars ended on 25 December 2025: from 2 January 2026 a pure electric car pays £13.50 instead of £18 with Auto Pay, and the full £18 without it. Who settles road charges, tolls and penalty notices on a rental car is agreed when booking, so raise it with the manager before the date.

Left-hand traffic, limits and the way out

Traffic drives on the left, and every car on this page is right-hand drive. The Highway Code asks you to keep left unless signs or markings say otherwise (rule 160) and to turn closer to the left edge (rule 183); at roundabouts you give way to traffic approaching from the right (rule 185) and travel clockwise. Built-up limits are 30 mph in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, 60 mph on a single carriageway and 70 mph on a dual carriageway or motorway, while lit roads default to 30 mph unless signs say otherwise — and many zones here post 20 mph, so read the signs rather than assume. From the Royal Victoria Dock the A13 and the A406 put you on the M25 without crossing the middle of town; the M25 is also where the Dartford Crossing sits, on the eastern side.

Fuel on 19.10.2026 ran at £1.75 a litre for petrol and £1.99 for diesel, so a full-to-full policy is worth planning for: fill up before you come back rather than after, because the missing fuel and a refuelling service fee are charged as set out in the rental agreement.

The law a visitor should know

• Licence: a full, valid foreign licence is accepted for 12 months from your last entry into Great Britain.
• Alcohol: England, Wales and Northern Ireland set 80 mg per 100 ml of blood, 35 µg per 100 ml of breath and 107 mg per 100 ml of urine; Scotland is stricter at 50 / 22 / 67.
• Phone: holding a phone, satnav or tablet is banned even at a red light — £200 and 6 penalty points, and a driver within 2 years of passing loses the licence; hands-free is allowed if it does not block your view.
• Seat belts: a belt is required where fitted, and children need a child seat until they reach 135 cm or turn 12, whichever comes first — up to £500.

A last practical point from our own bookings: the Blackwall and Silvertown peak windows catch drivers leaving an exhibition at the wrong hour, so time a departure for the middle of the day and the off-peak £1.55 rate applies with Auto Pay.

Documents and rules for a car rental at ExCeL London

Driving out of the Docklands is one thing, but the paperwork still has to be right before the car moves. Here is what the law expects from a foreign licence holder, and what is agreed with the manager when booking.

Driving on a foreign licence

A full, valid foreign driving licence is accepted for 12 months from the date you last entered Great Britain — England, Wales and Scotland alike. Whether an international driving permit is needed and the minimum age are agreed when booking rather than fixed on this page. What the rule requires is the licence itself: a full one, in date, held by the person who will drive. If your licence is not printed in English, carry it as issued and mention it to the manager at booking — that conversation takes two minutes and saves an argument at the roadside.

Speed, alcohol and phone rules

• Speed limits: 30 mph (48 km/h) in built-up areas, 60 mph (96 km/h) on a single carriageway, 70 mph (112 km/h) on a dual carriageway or motorway; on lit roads the default is 30 mph where no sign says otherwise, and many zones here post 20 mph — the signs win.
• Which side: keep left unless signs or markings say otherwise (Highway Code, rule 160), and at roundabouts give way to traffic approaching from the right (rule 185).

Charges that follow the car

The Congestion Charge is £18 a day paid on the day or in advance, or £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after the trip. ULEZ is £12.50 a day for non-compliant vehicles, 24 hours a day, seven days a week except 25 December, across all 32 boroughs; petrol cars from 2006 and diesels from September 2016 generally comply. The Dartford Crossing is £3.50 per crossing, or £2.80 prepaid, usually 6:00–22:00 every day. Who pays road charges, tolls and penalty notices on the car is agreed when booking, and the rental agreement sets out the deposit and excess.

Fuel, keys and the state of the car

Rent-Trip hands the car over clean and with a full tank, and it comes back full — full-to-full is the only option we offer, and any missing fuel plus a refuelling service fee is charged as set out in the rental agreement. Petrol sits at £1.75 a litre and diesel at £1.99, so a brimmed tank at return is the cheaper habit. The delivery address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed; the car does not leave without that confirmation. Rent-Trip delivers to any address in the city, ExCeL London included, and our fleet here runs from the Citroen C3 Aircross at £22 a day to the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ at £3,300.

Car rental at ExCeL London for event days and business trips

Car rental at ExCeL London for an exhibition morning runs on a fixed clock, and the car has to fit around it rather than the other way round. A drop the evening before a show day can be agreed with the manager, so the vehicle is already at the hotel or the address when the doors open. With 147 cars on this page and 32 brands, matching a car to a two-day conference and matching one to a family week are different jobs.

Two-day exhibition trips

A two-day booking never reaches the weekly rate: seven days are charged at the daily rate times six, so the multiplier only bites once the stay passes six days. A Comfort or Premium car earns its keep when the trip mixes the exhibition centre with meetings elsewhere in the city.

• Solo or a pair: an Economy hatchback such as the Kia Rio or Volkswagen Polo at £23–£31 a day keeps parking simple around Royal Victoria Dock.
• A team of four with stands and samples: a Comfort estate — the Volkswagen Golf Estate at £31 or the Kia Ceed Sportswagon at £31 — swallows roll-ups that a hatchback cannot.
• Client dinners across town: a Sedan-class car such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class at £74 a day, if the car doubles as transport for guests.
• Stand equipment and stock: the Ford Transit Cargo at £47 or the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Cargo at £94, both three-seaters with a load bay.

Business travel beyond the Docklands

The BMW 3 Series at £77 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class at £62 are automatics with five seats and a boot that takes cabin luggage for three. For a longer run out along the M25, the diesel BMW X5 at £96 or the Volvo XC60 hybrid at £91 hold five in more comfort than a hatchback. In our practice the deciding factor is the return leg — a car collected at the venue and handed back at London Heathrow on the last morning saves a separate transfer, and all six airports are inside our delivery area on the same terms as any address.

Comparing car rental at ExCeL London classes before you book

The class floor price is the cheapest car in that group, not a typical one, so comparing classes by their «from» figure alone misleads. A Crossover starts at £22 and runs to £58, an Economy at £22 to £72 — the same entry point, very different cars at the top. Read the exact model and its daily rate, then check seats, gearbox and boot against the trip.

What separates the popular classes

The jump from Economy to Comfort is small — £22 against £23 at the floor — and can buy an estate body and a bigger boot. The jump from Comfort to Premium is more than twice the entry price, and what it buys is badge, trim and a quieter motorway run rather than more space. Electric starts at £71 and goes up: the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Mercedes-Benz EQA at £171 are five-seat automatics, while the Tesla Model Y at £322 and the Porsche Taycan Turbo S at £500 sit at the top of that class. Sports, Convertibles and Exotic are occasion cars — the Porsche 911 Carrera S at £495 or the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ at £3,300 a day — and they are booked for the drive, not the luggage.

What to check in the car rental at ExCeL London agreement

The rental agreement carries the numbers this page deliberately does not: the deposit, the insurance excess, any delivery fee and any discount are set out there and nowhere else. Read it before the date is fixed, not at the kerb. The same document sets out the fuel rule — the car comes clean with a full tank and goes back full, otherwise the missing fuel and a refuelling service fee are charged as set out in the agreement.

Questions to settle with the manager

• The minimum age and any young-driver surcharge: agreed when booking, not fixed on this page.
• Who pays road charges: the Congestion Charge, ULEZ, the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels and the Dartford Crossing are all live around the Docklands, and who settles them on a hired car is agreed when booking.
• Payment and the deposit: the methods accepted and the deposit amount are agreed when booking and set out in the rental agreement.
• The delivery slot: the address, the date and the time are confirmed with a manager before the booking is fixed, and the car does not leave without that confirmation.
• Territory: how far the car may be driven is agreed when booking — ask before planning a run to Oxford, Cambridge or the Cotswolds.

Fuel and the return leg

The full-to-full rule is the only fuel option on this page — no pre-paid tank and no full-to-empty arrangement is offered, so budget the last fill as part of the trip. Petrol stands at £1.75 a litre and diesel at £1.99, so a full tank at return is the cheaper habit than a refuelling fee. Fill up on the approach to the Docklands rather than hunting for a station after the drop-off window.

Long stays and monthly car rental at ExCeL London

Car rental at ExCeL London for a month is charged at the daily rate times 21, from £462, which is the same arithmetic on every class. For a stay that runs past about three and a half weeks the monthly figure is the one to plan around, and the cheapest cars on this page — the Citroen C3 Aircross and Fiat 500 at £22 a day — give the lowest monthly total on this page. A Comfort estate at £31 a day works out at £651 for the month on the same multiplier.

When the monthly rate makes sense

• A family visit spanning school holidays: a seven-seater such as the Volkswagen Sharan at £44 or the Kia Sorento hybrid at £49 covers the whole group for the stay.
• A course or contract with a fixed daily route: an electric model charged overnight suits a predictable commute better than a petrol car.
• A project posting of four weeks or more: the monthly multiplier applies from the start and removes the daily arithmetic from the budget.
• Short exhibition trips: three to five days never reach the weekly rate, so the daily price of the exact model is what you pay.

Keeping a long-stay car practical

A long booking changes what matters: boot space and seats stop being the question and running costs take over. A hybrid such as the Toyota Corolla at £31 or the Honda Jazz at £32 cuts fuel stops on repeated short runs, and an electric car avoids them entirely if you can charge where you stay. Check the Congestion Charge and ULEZ position of your daily route before you commit — a non-compliant diesel crossing into the zone every weekday adds up over a month, and the charge is £12.50 a day for ULEZ and £18 a day for the Congestion Charge when paid on the day or in advance.