Similar names, entirely separate businesses, and no affiliation between them. If you searched for “nova car rental malta”, this page tells the two apart so you end up with the company you actually meant — including how to reach Nova Rentals if that’s who you were looking for.
Nova Drive Malta is the trading name of NovaDrive Service Centre Ltd (company registration C 116377, VAT MT32937930). It is a self-drive car-hire company only, based at 89 Triq Il-Mastrudaxxa, Ħal Qormi, with airport handover at Malta International Airport, Park East. That is the whole of what it does: cars, hired to you to drive yourself, on Malta and Gozo.
Nova Rentals Malta — also seen as “Nova Car Rentals” or “Nova Car & Scooter Rentals”, with the website ntsmalta.com — is a long-established St Julian’s business. It was set up in 1986 alongside Nova Tours and offers a much wider range: cars, scooters, boats and yacht charter, excursions, cruises and self-catering apartments [ntsmalta.com] [ntsmalta.com]. Nova Rentals has been trading for around four decades; Nova Drive is a newer company. Neither fact is a criticism of the other — they are simply two different businesses that happen to share part of a name.
To be completely clear: Nova Drive Malta is not affiliated with Nova Rentals, Nova Tours or NTS Malta in any way. They are not the same company, not part of the same group, and not connected through ownership. If the name similarity brought you here by mistake, the next section helps you work out which one you actually want.
The quickest checks are the domain, the way you book and the address. They differ at every step:
If you booked online and your pickup is meet-and-greet at Malta International Airport, Park East, you are with Nova Drive. If you booked by phone or a contact form on ntsmalta.com, that is Nova Rentals. You can read who we are on our about page, and if you have any doubt at all, our contact page will confirm it quickly.
This compares only what each company publishes on its own website, as of 2026-07-03 — a blank cell means the information isn’t published, not that the service doesn’t exist. Every Nova Rentals cell is footnoted to its source on ntsmalta.com.
| Feature | Nova Drive Malta | Nova Rentals Malta (ntsmalta.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal identity | NovaDrive Service Centre Ltd (C 116377, VAT MT32937930), Ħal Qormi. | Presents as Nova Rentals / Nova Car & Scooter Rentals, St Julian’s; set up 1986 alongside Nova Tours [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Services | Self-drive car hire, Malta & Gozo. | Cars & scooters, boats/yacht charter, excursions, cruises, self-catering apartments [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Published prices | All-in from €6/day (Economy), full total shown before you pay. | Not publicly available — no prices published on the live site, as of 2026-07-03 [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Online booking | Yes — online checkout (and iPhone app). | Not publicly available — booking by phone or contact form [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Opening hours | 08:00–02:00, seven days. | Not publicly available, as of 2026-07-03 [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Airport pickup | MLA Park East meet-and-greet, both directions. | Not publicly available — not mentioned on the live site, as of 2026-07-03 [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Deposit / guarantee | Refundable hold on a credit card in the main driver’s name, amount shown before booking; debit cards not accepted for the hold. | Guarantee by major credit or debit card for the excess amount; cash deposit possible for non-cardholders, refunded by bank transfer less bank/admin charges [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Excess amount | Shown before you book; optional Super Gold Protection reduces it. | Amount not published — “Applicable excess as per rental contract will apply” [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Insurance | CDW + third-party liability included on every rental. | Cars: fully comprehensive incl. fire & theft; scooters/bikes third-party only [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Rates include | VAT, airport fee, CDW, third-party cover, unlimited mileage. | Insurance, VAT and unlimited mileage [ntsmalta.com]. |
| If your booked model is unavailable | Class-based booking; vehicle within the booked class. | Free upgrade if a vehicle in the booked group is unavailable [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Driver age | From 21 (full licence held 2+ years; under-25 surcharge shown before booking). | 21–75 [ntsmalta.com]. |
| Cancellation | Free up to 48 h before pickup. | Early termination: “no refund is guaranteed” [ntsmalta.com]. |
Swipe the table sideways to see all columns
If Nova Drive is the company you meant, here is exactly what a booking with us settles before you pay, in plain terms:
You can browse the fleet, read the practical basics on our Malta car hire guide, see how the handover works on our Malta airport car hire page, and get the full detail on the hold and the excess in our deposit and excess explainer.
If Nova Rentals is who you meant, we’d rather you find them quickly than book the wrong company. Their website is ntsmalta.com, and they are based at 16 St George’s Road, St Julians. They also offer scooters, boats and self-catering apartments, which Nova Drive does not. There is no affiliation between the two companies — this page exists only to help you reach the one you were actually looking for.
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