Ride-hailing services and car-pooling have come to light in recent times as these cost-effective options provide ease of commuting and quality transportation options on diurnal basis without the need to make an overwhelming investment in private cars or two-wheelers. eKar, the Middle-East’s first and largest personal mobility company has expanded its network in the UAE with the incorporation of 1,000 new 2021 vehicles from car rental partners as it understands the soaring demand for personal mobility. This comes after supply gets distracted owing to the global chip shortage and deficiency of semi-conductors.
In addition to providing affordable rates for daily, weekly, monthly and longer periods of time further, eKar has constructed an AI-based fleet optimisation and rebalancing software to ensure quicker delivery of cars and transport to people. They have also made clever use of algorithms through which data and tech teams have been able to attract greater booking volumes by 30%. Proactively, carsharing cars have been located in areas of the cities in which the company operates such that these are within easy reach.
Providing impetus to such moves is feedback received by ekar of over 1,000 users who underscored that 68% of them wanted a greater fleet and a detailed pricing scheme to help them make better choices.
This led the brand to expand its reach by providing a car galore ranging from frugal hatchbacks, compact sedans and sports cars to pint-sized and mammoth-sized SUVs with appetising options from as low as AED 0.70 per minute. eKar now earns bragging rights to claiming the widest range of self-driving cars building its penetration in the Middle-East with 77 car models across 7 cities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Its ‘Self-drive Super App’ can be used to subscribe to cars for periods the potential buyer feels best and also facilitates peer to peer rentals. From the day of foraying into this space, ekar has proliferated its presence from a 15-vehicle pilot program with Etihad airways to offering a terrific range of cars across the wide array of middle-eastern markets having a customer-base of over 250,000 who have experienced an impressive 1.5-million trips. Such is their ambition and runaway success that it will be incepting this December in Thailand and Malaysia followed by Egypt and Turkey in early 2022 to offer their dexterity at providing affordable and exquisite cars in those regions.
“Car rental companies are in awe of what’s going on at ekar. We are delivering unprecedented returns for the car rental industry via our revenue share programs, while providing data insights and analytics that the car rental industry has never since experienced. In turn, ekar is becoming increasingly data-rich. The more cars we add, the easier for users to book a vehicle, the more efficient our service becomes, which leads to decision automation. This flywheel effect is a testament to a solid product market fit and a compliment to an in-house team of superstars that keep me awe-inspired,” comments Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder, ekar.
“The recently added Kia, Hyundai, and Mazda vehicles have been met with great enthusiasm from our Dubai users. These new cars are experiencing exceptionally high demand levels, and we fully expect utilization levels to surpass 2019 numbers, when ekar Dubai was the highest utilized carshare service in the world. The continued influx of EXPO visitors, tourists, and residents seeking cost-effective mobility solutions is a testament to how self-drive has a seat at the mobility table in the Middle East, and ekar is the clear market-leader in the space. We are extremely bullish for the future,” remarks Hedberg.
