ekar: The First Fully Contactless Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Service in the UAE

Introduction to ekar

The first fully contactless peer-to-peer car sharing service in the UAE region has been launched by ekar. For those who don’t know, ekar is the region’s fastest growing car share service.

Contactless Vehicle Rental Process

Due to the pandemic, people are increasingly preferring contactless services. That's why ekar has made its vehicle rental process completely contactless. The vehicles can be activated via an app that unlocks the cars even if the keys are inside them. To prevent theft, these cars will be completely immobilized until authentication from the app is complete.

Peer-to-Peer Hosting Options

The company claims that its peer-to-peer solution removes the host and renter's need to meet in person or deal with the often time-consuming key handover. ekar offers two peer-to-peer hosting options:

1. Short-Term Hosting

• Hosts can commit their cars for rental for a minimum of eight hours.
• Maximum of eight days a month from their location of choice.

2. Long-Term Hosting

Long-term hosts, referred to as 'ekar Entrepreneurs' by the company, will dedicate their cars for a minimum of one month to the Riyadh-based car sharing service.

Benefits of ekar for Car Owners

Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder of ekar, stated: "Ride-hailing companies did an excellent job introducing the gig economy to car owners, allowing them to become chauffeurs and make additional income. ekar hosts, on the other hand, can inject their cars into ekar's platform from the comfort of their couch, and we handle the rest. A car owner can now spend their valuable time on other activities, rather than chauffeuring, and enjoy high yielding passive income on assets they already own."

Conclusion

"In today's environment, with new car production nearing an all-time low and fuel prices nearing an all-time high, peer-to-peer car sharing is an ideal solution that benefits both the entrepreneurially-minded host and the cost-conscious renter," he concluded.