ekar, the Middle East’s personal mobility company, has diversified and further grown its fleet by injecting 1,000 brand new 2021 model cars from car rental partners in direct response to increased demand for personal mobility in the face of a global car shortage and consistent surge pricing from chauffeur-driven mobility options.
“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,” said Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder, ekar.
In addition to the fleet growth, ekar’s most recent breakthroughs are dynamic pricing and predictive AI-driven fleet optimisation and rebalancing. Using proprietary algorithms, the ekar data and tech teams have been able to improve the company’s booking percentages over 30 per cent by recognising latent demand. Carsharing cars are positioned in optimal areas in the cities in which ekar operates, ensuring a car is within walking distance.
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ekar has added 1,000 new 2021 vehicles to its fleet, ranging from economical, compact sedans, sports cars, sporty mini SUVs, and family-sized. ekar now boasts the widest range of self-drive mobility vehicle options in the Middle East, with 77 car models across 7 cities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“The recently added vehicles have been met with great enthusiasm from our Dubai users. These new cars are experiencing exceptionally high demand levels, and we fully expect utilisation levels to surpass 2019 numbers, when ekar Dubai was the highest utilised 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,” added Hedberg.
Since its inception in 2016 by Founder Vilhelm Hedberg, ekar has grown from a 15-vehicle pilot program with Etihad Airways to a multi-country service used by more than 250,000 customers and booked an impressive 1.5 million trips. ekar operates in UAE, KSA, and will be launching Thailand and Malaysia in December 2021 with Egypt and Turkey launches scheduled for early 2022.
