ME car rental market sees steady growth; Selfdrive to launch operations in US and UK

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

The Middle East Car Rental Market is expected to register a CAGR greater than 4.0% during the 2022-2025. It is observed that key factors for the growth in the car rental are the rebounding of tourism, favourable government initiatives in the form of various events and a shift in customer preference towards rental and leased vehicles aided by increased technological adoption. The UAE Car Rental Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% on the basis of revenue for the period 2020-2025.

In the same context, Selfdrive, The Smart Mobility Super App that launched ‘NEOS’ – the UAE’s 1st New Car Every Year programme giving the customers flexibility to drive a brand-new car every year stated that it has delivered over 250 cars to customers in one month since the launch of the programme.

The Super App has partnered with Automobile Manufacturers and Car Dealerships across UAE to offer this program across 50+ different car models from Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Cadillac, BMW, GMC, Audi, Mercedes and more brands in line with its platform to deliver this service. Selfdrive currently manages a fleet of over 3500 cars, accumulating to an asset value of $500 million. In the next 12 months, the Super App aims to add more 5000 cars under this offering.

Being the Market Leader in the region in the vehicle subscription and digital leasing, Selfdrive has always been a forerunner in identifying the customer needs and in introducing services that cater the customer requirements with a seamless experience in the mobility segment. As such, under the NEOS program, the customer needs to select a car for a 1-year tenure and just pay a monthly fee. A brand-new car will get delivered as per the date and time requested.

The predetermined monthly amount for subscribing to the vehicle under the NEOS program includes insurance, service and maintenance, replacement vehicle and roadside assistance at zero additional cost. With zero maintenance or no overhead cost and no 20 percent down payment, the Super APP’s latest offering aims to provide Car Ownership with Zero Liability.

Soham Shah, Founder & CEO, Selfdrive said, “We always believed that we have all it takes to launch NEOS as this will be a game changer for the customers who are looking to drive brand new car every year to experience the new edge car technology and innovative features getting launched year after year. We are moving towards creating an alternate ecosystem for vehicle ownership via on demand digital leasing and subscription at zero cost of ownership as millennials are shifting towards a subscription economy that helps them to maintain their finances.”

As compared to other car rental services, Selfdrive is a Super App, which basically means that it is end-to-end integrated. Being the only largest platform to have direct tie ups with dealers and car manufacturers, Selfdrive helps customers source cars that are typically not available with other rental companies and also offers flexibility to subscribe from 1 day to 36 months

“Selfdrive is witnessing rapid growth. We have forayed into Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, and will soon cover Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our aim is to acquire 65 per cent of the digital rental market share in these markets with and add further new markets in the Middle East as well as expand our base in other regions globally as the US and UK,” added Shah.