The Middle East’s first carshare operator providing short-term mobility services predicts that by 2025 carshare members will outnumber car owners in the Emirates.
According to Navigant Consulting, global carsharing services revenue will approach US$1 billion in 2013 and grow to US$6.2 billion by 2020, with over 12 million members worldwide. The carshare services, provided by Ekar, provide UAE consumers all the benefits of car ownership without the high fixed costs including purchase, insurance and maintenance.
“We observed a problem and went about figuring out how find to a solution and make the joys of driving car just that – joyful! The freedom of driving a car without the hassle of ownership gives our customers the freedom of driving a car when they want,” comments Vilhelm Hedberg, Co-Founder & CEO Ekar.
Ekars are conveniently parked at easily accessible areas to connect people to each other and to public transportation modes to help take drivers where they want to go – whether shopping, enjoying afternoon tea with friends, embarking on an exciting road trip or hanging out at the beach.
Ekar uses state-of-the-art instant reservations and smart access technology, providing a network of vehicles for hourly on-demand rent in the UAE. Ekar enable users to easily discover and book available cars via its mobile app and website providing a cost-effective alternative to daily and monthly rentals by offering a “pay-by-the-hour” pricing scheme.
What’s more the concept delivers on-demand mobility while leaving a small environmental footprint, for every carshare in operation, 17 privately owned cars are off the road. Currently Ekar’s fleet has two models: Nissan Juke 1.6LTR AT 5STR 2016 and the Nissan Sentra 1.6LTR Saloon 2016.
Company Timeline – 2016
•Secures exclusive licensee of German car-sharing technology; 40% world market share
•Launched B2B service to Etihad’s 25,000+ full-time staff – April 2016
•Launched B2B service to Emirates 75,000+ full-time staff in August 2016
•Selected by RTA as provider for 100 carshare project – announced by RTA at GITEX, October 2016
•Agreement to set up freezone trade license & provide service in JLT