Skip to main content

Ekar brings e-car-share service to Abu Dhabi

Ekar has joined forces with renewable energy company Masdar to launch an electric vehicle (EV) car-sharing service in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City.
November 14, 2019 Read time: 1 min

Yousef Baselaib, Masdar’s executive director of sustainable real estate, says: “The launch of this new service expands upon our existing portfolio of sustainable mobility solutions, which includes the personal rapid transit system and the 8379 Navya Autonom Shuttle.”

In July, Navya received approval from the Japanese government to operate autonomous vehicles (AVs) on open roads.

Ekar says drivers can use its app to rent a 8534 Tesla Model S or Model X for 64 fils (14p) per minute. Users can collect and return vehicles at a charging station in the city.

Vilhelm Hedberg, CEO of Ekar Middle East, says: “The carbon emissions footprint of an EV is half that of a fossil fuel-powered vehicle when the lifecycles of the vehicles are compared, and most electric cars in the market can be integrated with our car-share technology.”  

Ekar uses instant reservations and smart-access technology to provide a network of vehicles for rent in the United Arab Emirates. The service is available to people who have been driving for at least six months and visitors who submit a copy of their passport, visa page and foreign driver’s licence.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US DOT announces ITS video challenge
    May 21, 2012
    The US Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has announced the ITS Video Challenge, a new national competition showcasing innovative ways that local communities use smart transportation technology to improve safety, mobility and the environment.
  • Zero-emission transport at centre of Democrat ‘Green New Deal’
    February 13, 2019
    Clean and affordable transportation and zero-emission vehicle infrastructure are at the heart of the US Democrats’ ‘Green New Deal’ package. The proposals seek to move the US away from fossil fuels and other sources of emissions that cause global warming within the next decade. The package says these goals can be reached by reached by a ten-year “national mobilisation” which include an overhaul in transportation systems to eliminate pollution and greenhouse as much as technologically feasible, repai
  • America back on the road to gridlock
    February 3, 2012
    The 4th Annual Inrix National Traffic Scorecard reveals gridlock and longer commute times returning to America’s roads.
  • Ford plans AV transport in Austin in 2021
    October 4, 2019
    Ford Motor is to launch an autonomous vehicle (AV) transportation service in Austin, Texas, by 2021. Reuters says Ford is testing a self-driving system - developed with Argo AI, an AV technology company backed by Ford - in its Fusion Hybrid sedans. Sherif Marakby, chief executive of Ford autonomous vehicles, says the company is planning to launch the service using hybrids that can carry either people or goods. Argo AI says teams will manually drive the Fusion test vehicles to map the city’s streets an