One-way drive to success
WITH A STRONG belief that car-sharing will trump car ownership over the next decade, Vilhelm Hedberg, a senior executive in the field of quality management and logistics, spent three years to develop his concept into a business model.
“The idea was to create an easy-to-use car-sharing platform allowing residents and tourists alike to book cars, conveniently parked throughout the city, from the comfort of their laptop or smartphone,” says Hedberg, Vilhelm Hedberg, co-founder and CEO of ekar, Middle East.
He says either you own a car or rent a car, it has always been a time-consuming and expensive task.
“We observed a problem and start figuring out how to solve it, how to make driving really joyful,” Hedberg says.
Ekar, launched in January 2016, uses instant reservations and smart access technology, providing a network of vehicles for hourly on-demand rent in the UAE.
Ekar in partnership with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) this year launched 100 car-share vehicles across the Dubai. Half of the ekar fleet designated around the Dubai Metro stations (Metro Cars) while the other half within popular areas of the city (City Cars) including, JLT, Dubai Silicon Oasis, The Green Community and Academic City among others. Hedberg says car-sharing in Dubai comes as an ideal mobility solution for people by increasing the ridership of public transport means.
“Ekar aims to enhance the integration of mass transit systems through easing the mobility of commuters, especially Metro and Tram riders, to their final destinations. The service enables the rental of vehicles for short periods not exceeding six hours via smart apps on mobile phones and tablets. At a later stage, the service would also be available through the Integrated Mobility Platform in Dubai,” he says.
The Middle East’s first pay-as-you-go hourly car rental predicts that by 2025 car-share members will outnumber car owners in the UAE.
“Ekar will be a prominent contributor to this shift,” he pointed out.
According to Navigant Consulting, global car-sharing services revenue reached $1 billion in 2013 and expected grow to $6.2 billion by 2020, with over 12 million members worldwide.
Sean Fuller, general manager, ekar Middle East, says: “Ekar offers a ‘drive now’ and ‘drive later’ solution, which is ideal for planning your week ahead. Our cars are all brand new 2017 Nissan models, and we pride ourselves in the speed and effectively of our 24-hour call centre.”
GCC expansion
Hedberg says that ekar is already in talks to expand in other countries in the GCC.
“Ekar owns exclusivity for the world’s top car-share hardware and software systems for the GCC and Saudi Arabia. We have every intention of expanding our services throughout the region, with a specific focus on airports, public transportation nodes, and universities. Ekar is currently building its fleet and are looking to add 500 cars by end of 2018. We aim to provide smart car rentals throughout the GCC soon,” he says.
The latest investment, led by Audacia Capital, will enable ekar to expand its service network. With the new partnership, Audacia Capital has secured a 25 per cent stake in ekar and a series B raise scheduled to take place within the next 18 months.
Audacia Capital has shareholders from across the GCC and operates as a direct investment firm that facilitates direct investments in successfully operating companies using a private equity approach aligned to Shariah principles.
“Ekar business model is offering consumers a unique service. It is also working in alignment with the UAE government’s vision to promote sustainability and economic growth and car-sharing will serve to be very beneficial for this purpose in the long run. We are pleased to have started this partnership and we are confident that ekar will in no time become the leading car-sharing scheme operator in the GCC,” says Emad Mansour, CEO and Audacia Capital.
self-driving cars
Hedberg says that Ekar has in the recent past been approached by several peers and key players of self-driving technology in Dubai.
“It’s important to note, however, that there are symbiotic relationships between self-driving technology and the car-sharing network. We see ourselves building up a substantial business here in the UAE with tens and thousands of users utilising shared fleet, with ekar simply looking to add to the technology by incorporating self-driving vehicles in the fleet. The concept would work by plugging in the advanced service into our existing network and serving our clients accordingly,” he says.
“Our strategy here is to work together with companies like Tesla, Uber and GoogleX to provide our existing platform of users with a new experience thereby utilising their technology solutions,” Hedberg says.
by 2025 car-share members will outnumber car owners in the Uae. [We] will be the prominent contributor to this shift Vilhelm Hedberg, Co-founder and CEO of ekar