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.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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