Ekar launches subscription in Middle East

Ekar, which calls itself the first and largest self-drive mobility company in the Middle East, is launching the region’s first vehicle subscription product. The product is integrated into ekar’s ‘Self-Drive Super App’.

Ekar Subscription is the next step in fulfilling customer demand for longer-term, hassle-free solutions. All cars come with maintenance and roadside assistance and can be switched, traded up or returned at any time. Users simply select a car on the app and it will be home-delivered within 24 hours – fully sterilised.

No down-payments
Vehicle subscription is a hassle- and commitment-free alternative, not just compared to car ownership, but also to leasing, and even to renting. 

With ekar Subscription, ekar customers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia can book car ranging from economy to luxury, from one month to nine. All it costs is a monthly subscription – no down-payments, no long-term commitment. 

The subscription is one option of ekar’s recently launched Self-Drive Super App, which also offers the company’s standard carsharing product. 

“Via a single app, users can now access the entire self-drive vertical, from pay-per-minute to multiple-month subscriptions, all in partnership with some of the largest car rental and leasing companies on the planet,” says Vilhelm Hedberg, founder of ekar. 

SaaS platform
Due to the pandemic, people have refocused on self-driving, Mr Hedberg says. “Post-lockdown, tens of thousands of new members joined ekar in search of a safer mobility solution. To meet demand, we launched ekar Fleet in November 2020. It is part of ekar Mobility OS, the Software-as-a-Service platform for rental and leasing companies to remotely rent out their own fleet on the ekar platform.” 

Started in 2016 as a 15-vehicle pilot programme for Etihad Airways, ekar has since grown into an international provider of free-floating carsharing, with 200,000 customers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and 1.3 million trips booked so far. 

The launch of the Self-Drive Super App may serve as a catalyst for the company’s expansion, which is aimed at Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, and Thailand during 2021.