Avis Budget Group and Hertz Global Holdings Inc. want a slice of the self-driving car market.

Each of the rental car companies signed separate deals with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and Apple Inc., respectively.

The deal between Avis and Waymo will see the rental car giant joining former Google Inc. self-driving car unit’s efforts to deliver a fleet of self-driving vehicles by offering fleet support and maintenance services for Waymo’s self-driving car program at car rental locations. The deal is said to be designed to support Waymo’s growing autonomous vehicle fleet and its early rider program, a free on-demand car program Waymo launched in Phoenix, Arizona, in April.

Hinting that the deal may result in an expansion of Waymo’s on-demand car program, Avis has committed to enhancing “selected rental facilities” to offer automotive services and secure parking for Waymo’s fleet. That will include interior and exterior cleaning, oil changes, tire rotations and mechanical maintenance services, although presumably not for the actual self-driving system.

“With members of the public using our growing fleet of self-driving cars, our vehicles need standard maintenance and cleaning so they’re ready for our riders at any time of the day or night,” Waymo Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik said in a statement. “With thousands of locations around the world, Avis Budget Group can help us bring our technology to more people, in more places.”

The deal buoyed Avis’ shares, which jumped 13 percent on the day.

Moving south from Mountain View to Cupertino, Apple’s deal with Hertz sees the iPhone maker signing a deal to lease six cars from Hertz for autonomous software testing. According to Bloomberg, which found the details in a filing with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple is leasing Lexus RX450h sport-utility vehicles from Hertz’s Donlen fleet-management unit.

Although the deal in and of itself would seem to be unremarkable, what makes it interesting is that with $257 billion in cash on hand, Apple buying six vehicles for self-testing purposes wouldn’t be difficult, suggesting that the lease agreement for the vehicles may be the start of a wider relationship.

The market seemed to think that there was more to the leasing deal as well. Shares in Hertz surged almost 14 percent in trading Monday following the publication of the news.

Both companies needed the stock bumps. Hertz’s shares are still down 52 percent and Avis’ shares have lost 27 percent this year, for precisely the possibility that rental-car companies could suffer in an age of self-driving cars, not to mention surging ride-hailing companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.

The autonomous-car business remains highly competitive, so it’s difficult to tell just yet who will be the winners and losers. Hertz and Avis are placing bets so they can at least get in the game, but investors are still betting they’re going to remain renters while the like of Apple, Alphabet and the car companies stay in the driver’s seat.

Photo: Avis