The UAE's car-sharing platform ekar is offering a car subscription leasing service across Saudi Arabia in partnership with some of the biggest vehicle rental companies in the kingdom.
Subscription cars are delivered to the customer's door and they come with insurance, maintenance and roadside assistance. The cars can be switched, traded up or returned at any time.
The service offers an alternative to buying, leasing or renting a car for customers who want to have a personal vehicle without the cost or commitment of ownership, the company said on Monday.
"Ekar Saudi Arabia car-sharing experienced a spike in demand for longer-term bookings during the pandemic, especially with female drivers who choose ekar as their ‘first car solution'," said Vilhelm Hedberg, founder of the company.
"Launching subscription leasing is a perfect solution for our 100,000 users in the kingdom.
"The marketplace is nascent in Saudi Arabia, and the combination of subscription leasing with car-sharing will make ekar the only app in the market that offers the entire vertical of self-drive from per minute car-sharing to multiple months subscriptions."
The subscription leasing option, available through ekar's mobile app, will be introduced in Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Mekkah, Taif, Abha, and Jaizan in its first phase.
Car-sharing apps that allow customers to rent a vehicle by the hour, or even minute, have been growing in popularity. The pay-per-use model saves drivers on insurance, maintenance costs and loan repayments.
More consumers are now open to vehicle subscription services, a survey of car industry executives conducted by management consultancy McKinsey found last year.
In 2016, Mr Hedberg decided to fill the gap in the market in the Middle East by launching ekar, which is now the biggest car-sharing platform in the region, said the company.
The UAE start-up provides a network of vehicles that can be booked and unlocked through its mobile app. The service is used by more than 250,000 customers who booked 1.6 million trips since the company's inception five years ago.
After introducing subscription leasing in the UAE in early 2021, the company is now poised to bring this service to Saudi Arabia where the car rental and leasing market is expected to grow to $2.5 billion by 2026, India-based consultancy Mordor Intelligence said.
Ekar is planning to expand into the global automotive subscription services market, with plans to launch in Malaysia, Turkey and Egypt over the next 12 months. Earlier this month, ekar said it will begin operations in Bangkok in January 2022, a move that will mark its expansion in South-East Asia.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Full list of Emmy 2020 nominations
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
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Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
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Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
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2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Dir: R Balki
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
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Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
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Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
