ekar, the Middle East’s leading personal mobility company, announced its partnership with UK-based Rent2Ride.
Rent2Ride will provide new cars to ekar, and in return, ekar will host cars on ekar’s Mobility OS via a revenue share program, known as ‘ekar Fleet’. The partnership will give Rent2Ride access to ekar’s 350,000 members, providing a strong return from the first day of operations in the UAE. ‘ekar Fleet’ removes the need for significant investments and marketing efforts, making it easier for new rental car companies to enter the GCC market.
Rent2Ride, which has been operating in the United Kingdom for over five years, will now be able to expand its operations to the Middle East thanks to ekar’s technology. This partnership will also provide faster access to new markets and help meet the growing demand for instant mobility in the UAE.
“We are thrilled to be working with ekar,” says Kunal Soni, Managing Director of Rent2Ride. “Our new partnership brings many opportunities, including faster access to new markets. We have been operating exclusively in the United Kingdom for over five years, and our partnership with ekar will be the next step in our growth.
“Their ‘Locate, Unlock, & Drive’ on-demand technology will help us to meet instant mobility demands in the UAE by making hiring a vehicle easy and convenient for self-drivers and car sharers. Their local expertise, knowledge, and cultural understanding of the Middle East makes working with ekar extremely advantageous. We look forward to building our relationship with ekar.”
ekar’s modular Mobility OS allows for easy inclusion of a number of product verticals including carshare, subscription leasing, and peer-to-peer rentals, making localization efficient. Together with ekar’s global support infrastructure, the partnership ensures seamless integration with relevant stakeholders to create optimal personal mobility solutions.
“We are delighted to be working with Rent2Ride and helping them expand their business to the Middle East,” said Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder of ekar. “Such partnerships align with ekar’s strategy to become asset-light and the leading mobility technology provider for the car rental industry.”
This partnership marks another milestone for ekar, who in 2022 achieved many significant accomplishments, such as surpassing the 2 million ride mark and passing more than a million app downloads. ekar will continue its innovative performance in creating a business model which creates the opportunity for scalability – for the company itself and also its ecosystem partners in 2023.
