Develop a Car Rental App Like Ekar

In this fast-moving generation, no one wants to waste their time outside the car rental offices. Where the mobile-first solution is in high demand, a car rental app will give potential commuters in the UAE the flexibility and convenience to book their ride.

If you wish to contribute to this idea, then build an app like Ekar, which allows users to schedule their ride from anywhere and at any time. However, developing an app like Ekar is not about designing the booking interface, but more than that.

If you’re considering the necessary steps to develop an app like Ekar with unique features and functionalities, this blog is for you.

Let’s know everything from the development steps to its cost.

What is the Ekar App?

Ekar, the fastest-growing car rental service app in the UAE, provides its users with an on-demand car-sharing facility. More than 10,000 vehicles are available in different cities of the UAE, which include Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Riyadh.

This car-sharing app keeps getting stronger with its modern approach of offering cars for rent to users. Unlike traditional car rental facilities, this app allows users to take cars on rent for minutes, an hour, a day, a week, or a month.

Cars can be taken on rent without the hassle of a contract, and users can cancel their car booking at any time. The car rental price will also include the price of fuel, parking, and insurance. Moreover, private car owners can list their cars for rent on the Ekar app that are not in use due to its peer-to-peer car sharing model.

The app today has more than 1 million registered users because of the convenience it offers. Moreover, the app is also gaining popularity because of its affordability and its contribution to environmental sustainability.

Market Overview of the Car Rental Industry in the UAE

Let’s look into the market overview of the car rental industry in the UAE, which will help you to understand the need and benefits of the car rental app better.

In the year 2025, the car rental industry of the UAE is expected to generate revenue of $182.53 million. The same market is expected to generate revenue of $214.70 million by the end of the year 2029. So, the car rental industry in the UAE between the year 2025 to 2029 is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 4.14%.

By the year 2029, it is expected that the UAE’s car rental industry will generate 87% of the total revenue only through online sales. The user penetration of the UAE’s car rental industry will be 6.5% in the year 2025, and in the year 2029, it will be 6.9%.

So, it is expected that by the year 2029, the number of users in the car rental industry will increase, reaching 829.02k.

Why Build a Car Rental App Like Ekar?

Developing a car rental app like Ekar has several benefits and caters to those who are connected to the app. The three groups of people for whom the car rental app will come as a blessing include passengers, car owners, and car rental businesses.

We have given a detailed breakdown on why to develop an app like Ekar, the car rental app.

♦ For Customers or Passengers

The customers or passengers are the ones who will benefit the most from a car rental app like Ekar. In this busy life schedule, waiting for a taxi or going to a traditional car rental office and doing all the paperwork can be overwhelming.

So, when you make an app like Ekar, you offer them a more convenient way to rent a car. We have listed the ways passengers will benefit from a car rental app.

• Quick booking: Unlike the traditional process, a car rental app cuts off the long waiting queue and long forms. You just have to open the car rental app, select your preferred car, time period, make easy payments, and start driving.
• Flexible rental timing: With a car rental app like Ekar, customers can get cars on rent for their preferred time. It allows customers to book a car for a few minutes, hours, for the entire weekend, and also for the entire month.
• Get the keys easily: Customers don’t need to meet the car owners or anyone to pick up the car keys. Users can easily access the car with smart lock technology, unlock the rented cars from the app, and get to their destination.
• No upfront pricing: In the traditional car renting system, the renters have to pay the upfront price, which feels like a burden. However, car rental apps offer transparent prices, and customers don’t have to pay any kind of hidden price at checkout.
• Round-the-clock support: Any convenience at any time can easily be solved by the rental app’s support team. The users just have to contact the support team over the phone or via chat, and they will instantly solve the problem.

♦ For the Car Owners

Ekar-like app development comes with an excellent scope for the car owners to make some extra bucks by renting it out. Yes, many people own a car but rarely get the chance to drive.

So instead of keeping it in the garage, they can rent it out on car rental apps and earn a good sum of money effortlessly.

Let’s take a brief look at the list of benefits car owners can enjoy from rental apps like Ekar.

• Chance of flexible earning: Car owners can get their hands on for some flexible earnings by renting out their car to people who need it. They can rent out their car for a short period and long period of time as per their convenience.
• Automated safety measures: Car owners will get the leverage of automated safety measures by renting out their cars on rental apps. They will be provided with GPS tracking, insurance coverage, and remote lock & unlock features as perks.
• Smart matching technology: Car owners don’t have to worry or put in their efforts to find potential customers. The smart AI and Machine Learning technology will read the algorithm and work accordingly to find the best match.
• Keep track of the performance: Car owners don’t need to be sceptical about car usage, earnings, or anything else. The smart technology will automatically notify with real-time data of the car usage, earnings, and feedback.
• No hassle of meet and greet: There will be no need for the car owners to follow the traditional way of meeting the renters in person or handling logistics. The app will seamlessly take care of everything on behalf of the owners.

♦ For the Business Owners

For the car rental businesses, it’s time to think out of the box to help them drive good revenue and boost growth. It will be a good investment to create an app like Ekar that helps them to come out of the traditional market, reach a wider audience, and earn better.

Moreover, the car rental business will be able to make better decisions through the data-driven approach. Let’s find out in the list below how developing a car rental app will be benefitting for the car rental businesses.

• Task efficiency: Having a car rental app will reduce a lot of manual efforts for businesses by automating the task through the app. So, this will allow the car rental companies to work efficiently and save time.
• More control: A car rental app will come up with a comprehensive dashboard, trip management, vehicle management, payment handler, and reporting analytics. So, businesses will get more control over customer experience, branding, and others.
• Marketing and outreach: Having a traditional offline car rental business can put you behind in the growing competition. Thus, when you develop an app like Ekar in Dubai, it is a good tactic to promote your car rental business and reach wider audiences.
• Revenue growth: When you make an app like Ekar, you are taking the initiative to provide a more seamless and user-friendly way to rent a car. This approach will help you attract more customers, which in turn will potentially increase business revenue.
• Seamless and real-time interaction: The car rental app comes with many features in one place and offers 24/7 service. Thus, with an app, the car rental business can establish a seamless and real-time interaction with customers and additionally offer an all-in-one solution.

Key Features of the Ekar App

Looking at the overview of the car rental industry of the UAE, you must be confident enough to develop an app like Ekar.

However, before proceeding further with the car rental app development process, you must know about its features. So, we have shared the key features of the Ekar app below.

Let’s have a look at the key features.

1) Features to Cater to Passengers

➢ Two-Step Verification

The security feature of your car rental app must be as strong as the Ekar. Looking into that, offering two-step verification is crucial for passengers’ security.

Users must be able to create their account with a secure password and must verify it through email, contact number, and other means, which will ensure data security.

➢ Customized Ride Booking

Passengers must be allowed to book a customized ride as per their convenience. They must allow the users to choose their preferred pick-up and drop-off location, select timing, preferred language, preferred drivers, and more.

The design of the car rental app must be intuitive and must have a friendly design.

➢ Live Ride Tracking

Passengers must leverage the benefit of tracking their ride in real time. So, your car rental app must support live tracking of the rides booked by the passengers.

This feature will allow the passengers to get real-time updates for each of their trips. They will get updates from the driver’s arrival till the completion of the journey. This will enhance passenger safety.

2) Features to Cater to Drivers

➢ Manage Rides

This feature will help drivers manage each of their rides, ensuring a good experience for the drivers. The drivers will be allowed to manage their rides from accepting to rejecting the rides. Which means that using the app, drivers can locate the passengers, accept ride requests, and decline requests.

➢ Verifying Drivers

This feature will allow drivers to register their profiles within the car rental app and also verify them easily. Drivers can share their ID, driver’s license, and documents related to their car.

Through profile verification, they will make it more trustworthy for the passengers to accept their ride and continue.

➢ Optimizing Route

Map integration is very important for this feature to be applicable in the car rental app. This single feature will make everything easy for drivers by finding the best route for their passengers.

Geolocation functionality must also be integrated so the drivers can real-time route, along with a traffic congestion indicator.

3) Features to Cater to Admins

➢ Interactive Dashboard

The car rental must also offer benefits to the app admin that help in making more effective business decisions. So, the car app must have an interactive dashboard that allows the admin panels to seamlessly access the structured data.

➢ Revenue Management

The admin of the car rental app must be able to manage their revenue by getting total information on that. So, there must be a feature that allows the admin to manage their transactions and revenue. This feature will give access to transaction history and revenue data.

Steps to Build an App Like Ekar

So, now that you know the features of the car rental app, let’s proceed to its development process. Either you can hire a mobile app development company in Dubai, or you can also do it by yourself. If you are building the app by yourself, then you must know the strategic steps that are followed by the app development company.

Let’s see how to develop a Car Rental App in Dubai.

Step 1: Market Research

Before you start the development process, understanding the car rental market is crucial. In this, you have to conduct a thorough study that helps you to understand the car rental market trends, competitors, its target audiences, and other factors.

Competitor study must be your top priority to grasp their strategy, understand their app features, and identify the point where they are lacking. Then, proceed to analyze your target audiences, know their interests and demands so that your app can fulfill them and offer them the best experience.

Step 2: Choose Technologies

Technologies play a crucial role in app development since they ensure speed, security, and scalability of your car rental app. If you are building an app like Ekar, then the technologies you must consider for different parts of development are as follows.

• For front-end development: React Native for cross-platform, Swift for iOS, and Kotlin for Android.
• For back-end development: Node.js, Python- Django or Flask.
• Database: Firebase, PostgreSQL, MongoDB,
• For payment integration: Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay.
• Real-time tracking: Google Maps API, Mapbox.
• Cloud storage: AWS, Google
• Authentication: OAuth, Firebase Authentication.

Step 3: UI/UX Design

After deciding on technologies, proceed with the UI and UX design of the app, which is a crucial part of building an app like Ekar. This will determine whether users can smoothly interact with the app, which must be visually appealing and easy to navigate.

To create the wireframe and prototype of the app, designers can use tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD. A well-designed UI/UX of the app, like Ekar, offers easy and minimal steps for booking, fast & responsive, easy payment, vehicle browsing, and more.

Step 4: App Development

Now comes the development part of the app, which includes both frontend and backend development. The front-end development of the app is the process that creates the user interface and handles user interactions.

It will help develop numerous key frontend functionalities to help users’ smooth interaction with the app. Next is the backend development, which is the backbone of the app and gives power to the app. This step will help in developing the database, the APIs, and other crucial functionalities of the app.

Step 5: Testing and Launching

After the completion of the development process, now comes the process that ensures an excellent experience for the users, that is, testing. Before you launch the app, you must test it to fix bugs and other issues so that the app works in optimal condition.

The stages of testing include functional, security, performance, and localization testing. After testing comes the final step, launching the app on different app stores like Google Play and the App Store. When you launch the app, it means your app is ready to use for the audience.

Step 6: Maintenance

After the launch, your work doesn’t end; you have to keep working on the app so that you can identify user issues or other matters.

Identify the issues you have to fix them, and also you have to keep the app updated with the latest version of the tech stack and security patches. This will give the best experience of your app to the users and also keep user data safe.

Cost to Develop an App Like Ekar

So, you know how a car rental app development company in Dubai can develop a car rental app through strategic planning. We should also know how much it will cost you to build an app like Ekar. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

On average, the cost to develop an app like Ekar will typically range from $20,000 to $150,000, and even more. If you are developing a similar car rental app, then the cost will depend on various factors, which include features, designs, choice of platform, tech stack, development complexity, and more.

For a basic car rental app with nominal features and functionalities, it will cost you up to $20,000. However, if you want a full-stack car rental app with top features and advanced technicalities, then it will cost you more than $150,000 since it takes more effort and time.

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Factors Affecting the Cost to Develop an App Like Ekar

As we told you earlier, there are various factors upon which the cost to create an app like Ekar depends. So, we will explain some of the key factors that influence the development of the car rental app.

Let’s take a look at the factors listed below.

• Technology Used

The technology you are using to develop a car rental app is the biggest factor that influences the cost of development. The more complex the technology it will take more time to develop, and hence increase the cost.

• The UI/UX Design

The design of the Ekar app makes it the popular choice among the audience; it’s functional, easy to navigate, and attractive. Thus, to create a well-designed car rental app like Ekar, with advanced animated design, it will increase the cost of development.

• Location of the Developer Team

The location of the mobile app developers you hire impacts the development cost of the car rental app like Ekar. There are offshore and onshore teams; the former is out of the country, and the latter is located within the country. Offshore costs you less, while onshore can be a costly choice.

• Choice of Platforms

The choice of platforms also influences the cost of app development. You have to decide on the platform for your app, iOS or Android. If you want to build a separate app for a native platform, then the cost to build an iOS app will be higher than the Android app development cost, but for cross-platform development, it will cost you less.

How To Make Money From An App Like Ekar?

You should make a plan to make profits from your car rental app after its development. So, if you don’t know how to do it, we have come up with a few strong app monetization strategies that help you earn revenue from your app.

Let’s learn how your car rental app, like Ekar, can make money.

➢ Surge Pricing Strategy

Demand-based pricing will help you make a good profit from your car rental app rather than fixed rates. This will allow you to increase the cost of renting a car during peak hours, holidays, or at times of high demand.

➢ Subscription Plans

Implement subscription plans for your car rental app users that allow them to access premium features of the app. Opting for such a pricing plan will not only help businesses earn revenue but also allow users to get discounts on rentals, priority booking, and much more.

➢ Freemium Model

Implementing the freemium model will also be a good monetization strategy for the businesses. This will allow users to get access to the basic features of the app for free. Further, when they want to access the premium features like advanced navigation and others, they have to purchase a plan.

➢ Sponsored Listing

Offer car owners the facility of a sponsored listing that allows them to promote their vehicle at the top of the search results. For this, the car owners have to pay extra charges, but this also increases the chance of their car getting booked by potential renters or riders, a good idea for businesses to invest in an app.

Why Choose Nimble AppGenie to Develop an App Like Ekar?

Do you have good mobile app ideas that help you grow in the car rental industry, but don’t know how to develop a mobile App in Dubai? Don’t worry, Nimble AppGenie is the best mobile app development company in Dubai, which helps you build a well-functioning car rental app.

This mobile app startup in Dubai has the best team of app developers, designers, and testers that seamlessly build an app like Ekar. Moreover, it has expertise in multiple industries, so you can trust Nimble AppGenies with diverse app development ideas.

So, if you are looking for a car rental app development solution within your budget, then Nimble AppGenie is your answer.

Conclusion

Transform the way people move within the city or beyond with a fully functional car rental app. Creating an app like Ekar is now a few steps away for your business, and by building such an app, you can offer convenience, flexibility, and sustainability to potential renters.

You must be well aware of the development process of the car rental app since you have reached the conclusion part of this blog. You now have to follow the steps and make your own car rental app development strategy.

It’s time to revolutionize the car rental industry with your well-functioning car rental app like Ekar.

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