If you’ve booked Enterprise, National, or Alamo for your trip to Rome and are wondering why the counter says Locauto, you haven’t been switched to a different company — Locauto is who actually operates all four brands in Italy, and understanding that relationship will save you some confusion at the desk.
One Company, Four Names
Locauto is a fully Italian company that’s been in the rental and leasing business since 1979, long before it took on any international partnerships. Since 2013, it’s held the Italian franchise for Enterprise Mobility, which means Enterprise, National, and Alamo — three separate global brands — are all run through Locauto’s own network of desks, staff, and fleet in Italy. In practice, the car you get and the process you go through will be broadly the same whichever of the four names you booked under; the difference is mostly in branding and which price a given search engine happens to surface on a particular day.
That’s worth knowing before you assume National or Alamo will feel meaningfully different from booking Locauto directly. If you’re comparing quotes across platforms, it’s worth checking all four names for the same dates — the underlying inventory overlaps, but pricing between the brand names doesn’t always match exactly.
| Brand name | Positioning | What’s actually different |
|---|---|---|
| Locauto Rent | The house brand, Italy-first | Often the most straightforward pricing |
| Enterprise | General/mid-market | Same fleet pool, different branding |
| National | Business-oriented | Marketed toward corporate travellers |
| Alamo | Leisure-oriented | Marketed toward holiday travellers |
Where to Find Locauto at Fiumicino
Locauto’s Fiumicino desk sits in the same rental hall as most other airport-based companies — Torre Uffici 2, reached via the “Autonoleggio / Car Rental” signage from any terminal. It’s a walk through a connecting passage rather than a shuttle ride, so there’s no wait for a bus either at pickup or return. Return is at the multi-storey parking structure attached to the same building.
Elefast: Skipping the Counter Entirely
This is the feature that genuinely sets Locauto apart from most of the competition at FCO. Locauto was one of the first Italian rental companies to build a self-service digital rental process, branded Elefast, that lets you complete check-in and collect your car through the app without lining up at a physical desk at all. It’s not available on every single booking or category, so check at the time you reserve rather than assuming it applies automatically, but if your booking qualifies, it can meaningfully cut down the time between landing and getting on the road — a real advantage after a long flight when every other queue at the airport already feels long enough.
Fleet and Positioning
As Italy’s largest fully domestic rental company, Locauto’s fleet leans toward practical, reliable options across economy, compact, and mid-size categories, plus a dedicated van and commercial-vehicle line if you need something larger than a typical passenger car. It’s not the brand to pick if you specifically want a convertible or a high-end SUV — for that kind of specialty vehicle, a company like Sixt has a deeper selection. Locauto’s strength is dependable, competitively priced coverage of the categories most travellers actually book, backed by a company that’s been solving Italian logistics specifically for over four decades rather than adapting a global template to the local market.
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Booking and Documents
Standard requirements apply: a valid driving licence, passport, and a credit card in the lead driver’s name for the security deposit. As with most companies at Fiumicino, a debit card generally won’t satisfy the deposit requirement — check our list of debit-card-friendly options if that’s a constraint for your trip. If your licence isn’t from an EU country or isn’t in the Latin alphabet, bring an International Driving Permit alongside it.
Because Locauto, Enterprise, National, and Alamo effectively pool the same fleet in Italy, availability during peak season affects all four names roughly together — if you see a category sold out under one brand name, it’s often sold out under the others too, rather than being a sign to switch brand names and try again.
Insurance Considerations
The same industry-standard pattern applies here as elsewhere: online pricing typically includes basic third-party liability only, with collision damage waiver and theft protection sold as an add-on at the counter. Our broader guide to car rental insurance in Italy walks through what each layer actually covers and where the excess tends to land, which is worth reading before you’re standing at the desk being asked to decide in a hurry.
Returning in a Different Italian City
Because Locauto has grown well beyond airport counters into more than a hundred locations — franchise offices in smaller cities, train stations, and city centres across the country — it’s one of the more flexible options if your trip involves a one-way itinerary, like picking up in Rome and dropping off in Milan, Naples, or a smaller city that a purely airport-focused competitor might not reach. If you’re planning that kind of trip, our guides on returning a rental car in a different Italian city and specific one-way routes cover the fee structure in more detail — but Locauto’s domestic network depth is worth factoring in before assuming a bigger international name will have better coverage outside the main airports.
A Few Common Questions
Will my Enterprise loyalty status work at a Locauto desk in Italy? Generally yes, since it’s the same operator — but confirm at booking, as recognition of international loyalty tiers can vary by market even within the same franchise relationship.
Is Locauto cheaper than booking Enterprise or National directly? Not reliably — pricing depends more on which comparison site or direct channel you use than which of the four brand names you search under, so it’s worth checking more than one before assuming any single name is the cheaper route.
Does Elefast cost extra? No, it’s offered as a faster path through the same rental process rather than a paid upgrade, though it depends on the vehicle category and current availability whether it’s offered on your specific booking.
Who Locauto Actually Suits
Travellers who want a solid, no-surprises rental from a company that’s spent decades specifically on Italian roads and Italian airports — rather than a global brand adapting to the market — will do well here. It’s also the natural pick if speed through the airport matters to you and your booking qualifies for Elefast. If your priority is a specific luxury or performance vehicle rather than dependable mid-range coverage, you’ll find a better match at one of the companies whose fleet is built around that instead.
