Ekar
Ekar is a Dubai-headquartered pay-as-you-drive car rental service offering hourly and daily vehicle rentals to consumers in the UAE, operating a flexible usage-based mobility model since 2016.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersDubai, United Arab Emirates
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Ekar does
Ekar is a pay-as-you-drive car rental service headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that offers hourly and daily vehicle rentals on a flexible, consumption-based model. Founded in 2016, the company serves individual consumers in the UAE who want short-term access to vehicles without the obligations of ownership or longer-duration rental contracts. Its positioning targets urban and mobile users in the Gulf region seeking on-demand, app-mediated access to a distributed fleet of cars.
The company's operating model is built around an app-based booking flow enabling users to reserve vehicles by the hour or by the day, with revenue generated through per-use rental fees. Operations imply ongoing fleet acquisition, maintenance, dynamic availability, and pricing management. Specific product features, technical architecture, fleet size, and city-by-city footprint are not publicly disclosed in the available sources, and the company website at ekar.app is currently inaccessible due to a Cloudflare DNS error, limiting direct product verification.
Ekar has raised approximately $34 million in disclosed funding across three rounds. Audacia Capital participated in the company's earliest stages, while Polymath Ventures led the 2019 round with Al Yemni Group and Audacia Capital participating, and a $16.5M round was closed in March 2023. The company is privately held, employs 51-100 staff, and remains headquartered in Dubai. Public information on leadership is limited, with Anuradha Chaudhary listed as Director of Operations. Customer names, named partnerships, awards, certifications, and pricing schedules are not disclosed in the available data set, materially constraining external visibility into commercial scale and performance.
Ekar firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ekar
- Website
- https://ekar.app
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Ekar is a Dubai-headquartered pay-as-you-drive car rental service offering hourly and daily vehicle rentals to consumers in the UAE, operating a flexible usage-based mobility model since 2016.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ekar industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Car Rental & Vehicle Sharing Services
- NAICS
- Passenger Car Rental (532111), Passenger Car Rental and Leasing (53211)
- SIC
- Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mobility-as-a-Service / Car Sharing & Pool Fleet (Passenger Vehicles) (TLABAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- EV Car Sharing (Round-Trip & Free-Floating) (THADANAB)
Keywords
Where Ekar is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dubai
- HQ country
- United Arab Emirates
- HQ region
- Middle East
Markets served
Ekar business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Ekar product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ekar operates a pay-as-you-drive car rental service that lets customers reserve vehicles by the hour or by the day through its app. The fleet is accessed on a self-service basis, targeting urban users who need flexible, short-term vehicle access without the commitment of a traditional multi-day rental counter transaction.
Product overview
No product information available from the provided sources. The website at ekar.app is currently returning a DNS error, and the news sources contain general market analysis about the car sharing industry without specific details about Ekar's product portfolio, services, or technical offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pay-as-you-drive car rental Hourly and daily car rental service operated by Ekar for individual consumers in the UAE, accessed through the ekar.app platform.
Companies that use Ekar
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Ekar technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Ekar partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Ekar competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Udrive: Udrive is a UAE-based pay-by-the-minute and daily car-sharing platform operating a comparable fleet-based, app-driven rental model in the same Dubai market. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to Ekar on product, geography, and customer segment.
- Miles: Miles is a Germany-based car-sharing platform offering flexible, app-based, pay-as-you-go vehicle access for private and business customers. While operating in Europe, the core product (short-term, app-driven fleet rentals) is functionally identical to Ekar's model.
- Share Now: Share Now (formerly car2go) is a European free-floating car-sharing service from BMW and Mercedes-Benz mobility joint ventures. It offers by-the-minute car access via app in urban centers, directly comparable to Ekar's flexible hourly rental model.
- Getaround: Getaround is a peer-to-peer and fleet-based car-sharing platform operating across the US and Europe with hourly/daily bookings via mobile app. It represents the same flexible car-access use case Ekar targets, with a connected-car technology overlay.
- Turo: Turo is the world's largest peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace, enabling short-term vehicle rentals between private owners and renters via an app. Although peer-to-peer in structure, the short-term, app-mediated rental use case directly competes with Ekar for urban and tourist demand.
Broad incumbents
- Zipcar: Zipcar is the largest dedicated car-sharing operator in North America, now owned by Avis Budget Group. It pioneered the hourly, app-based, fleet-based car-sharing model that Ekar replicates, making it the relevant global category incumbent for benchmarking.
- Careem: Careem is a MENA super-app for ride-hailing, food, and mobility services, owned by Uber. It dominates the UAE mobility market and represents the most important competitive incumbent — it could expand into hourly car-sharing and absorb Ekar's demand.
- Avis Budget Group: Avis Budget Group is a global car rental giant operating the Avis and Budget brands with significant presence in UAE airports. It competes with Ekar on the daily-rental side and represents a well-capitalized incumbent with strong tourism-channel distribution.
- Sixt: Sixt is a major European-headquartered mobility and car-rental group with growing Middle East operations and a strong fleet-leasing and short-term rental portfolio. It is a relevant incumbent peer for benchmarking fleet economics and corporate-channel expansion.
- Hertz Global Holdings: Hertz is one of the largest global car rental companies with significant airport and urban presence in the UAE. It is a relevant incumbent peer for pricing benchmarks, fleet renewal cycles, and corporate/B2B channel strategy.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Ekar social profiles
Digital presenceEkar financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ekar leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Ekar funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ekar M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ekar
What does Ekar do?
Ekar operates a pay-as-you-drive car rental service that lets customers reserve vehicles by the hour or by the day through its app. The fleet is accessed on a self-service basis, targeting urban users who need flexible, short-term vehicle access without the commitment of a traditional multi-day rental counter transaction.
When was Ekar founded?
Ekar was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Ekar based?
Ekar is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East region.
Who are Ekar's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Udrive, Miles, Share Now, Getaround and Turo. Broad incumbents are Zipcar, Careem, Avis Budget Group, Sixt and Hertz Global Holdings.
Does Ekar have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ekar.
What industry is Ekar in?
Ekar's product category is Car Rental & Vehicle Sharing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLABAAAI, Mobility-as-a-Service / Car Sharing & Pool Fleet (Passenger Vehicles), with a secondary code of THADANAB, EV Car Sharing (Round-Trip & Free-Floating). Its NAICS code is 532111 and its SIC code is 7510.