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- Growth-stage start-up ekar recently announced its service launch in Thailand and currently has operations in 7 cities across the GCC, servicing 250,000 customers and employing more than 140 people.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: ekar, the Middle East's first and largest personal mobility company is, as part of its global expansion, bolstering its presence in Asia with the launch of its car subscription service in Malaysia, starting in Kuala Lumpur, and hot on the heels of its Thailand launch announcement last month.
ekar’s proprietary car subscription service will be the first offering available, starting in Kuala Lumpur and followed by a roll-out strategy across Malaysia towards the end of 2022. Customers are incentivised to subscribe to cars via ekar's 'Self-drive Super App' by having the flexibility of weekly or monthly (for up to twelve months) options with no down payments or long-term commitments.
“The product-market fit for tech-enabled and cost-effective personal mobility is irrefutable. The Malaysian Finance Minister has stated that largely due to car ownership, 40% of millennials spent more than they earned, and 47% of Malaysian youths had high credit card debt. That, together with the smartphone penetration and internet usage, makes using ekar’s car subscription service a no-brainer,” comments Stas Betin, Chief Commercial Officer.
"ekar is capable of launching a new market within a month. Built modularly, ekar's Mobility OS can easily expand the number of our product verticals available in each market, making localization efficient. That, together with our global support infrastructure, ensures seamless integration with relevant stakeholders to create optimal personal mobility solutions,” comments Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder, ekar.
“Travelers and expats traveling between countries can now enjoy the ekar experience seamlessly across borders. Our global footprint is growing, and we welcome the opportunity to provide world-class personal mobility services across MENAT and Southeast Asia," adds Hedberg.
As an added benefit to the user, ekar's subscription cars, which are tech-enabled cars from existing fleet owners and car rental companies, come with insurance, maintenance, and roadside assistance and can be switched, traded up, or returned at any time. A user selects a desired model on the ekar app, and a sterilized car is door-delivered within a 2-hour window.
ekar expects to launch peer-to-peer carshare in Malaysia by the end of 2022.
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About ekar
ekar operates in UAE, KSA, Thailand and now launching in Malaysia, with Egypt and Turkey launches planned for later this year. ekar's subscription leasing was introduced in the UAE and KSA in 2021 and has since witnessed double-digit month-on-month percentage growth. ekar has partnered with some of the world's largest car rental companies. Its integration with CarPro, the world's largest ERP software in the car rental industry, ensures the availability of any car. In a world with car shortages, optimizing fleets is the key to success, and ekar Mobility OS allows a seamless experience with guaranteed car availability.
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 1.6 million trips with over 40,000 automobiles under management.
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