This latest edition features a handful of inspiring stories of a few disruptive automotive companies in the UAE.
Read More: https://www.insightssuccess.com/uaes-fastest-growing-automotive-companies-2022-february2022/
1. www.insightssuccess.com
Era of Electrification
Automotive Industry in
UAE: Transformational
Change through
Technology
Enhancing Customer Experience Seamlessly
Full Throttle
The Future of
Mobility
Imad Hammad
Founder and CEO
CarSwitch
Automotive
Companies 2022
UAE's
Fatsest Growing
VOL.02 | ISSUE 23
2.
3.
4. wish I had a car, has been one of the most inert
Idesires of many. But, what is it that bridges us
with the world of cars?
If you are thinking about the automotive companies,
you got it right!
Be it a school kid, a teenager, or a traveler searching
for a comfortable car drive experience, cars have
always been fascinating to everyone. Knowing such
love and passion for automobiles, automotive
companies are ushering with their technological
marvels while introducing automotive services into
the global market. Amongst many, UAE is one of the
most popular and approachable markets for such
companies. Be it the spare parts supply, car rentals, or
driver services, UAE automotive companies have
been the remedy to all the challenges.
Steering Wheels Got Easy!
www.insightssuccess.com
VOL.02 | ISSUE 23 “
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5. From luxury cars to the sports wheel, UAE is brimming
with innovative entrepreneurs. With the technology influx
in the automobile sector, automotive service providers have
built up a unified system of an online platform. This makes
it easy for the consumers and companies to streamline the
hiring and purchasing process while enhancing the
customer experience at its best.
In an endeavor to share the marvels of such automotive
companies, we at Insights Success came up with our new
edition, UAE's Fastest Growing Automotive Companies
2022.’
Featuring on our cover is Car Switch, a company that is
unique in its kind. It is a platform that facilitates a
comprehensive car inspection while its customers
experience a hassle-free buying or selling experience.
While you flip through the inspiring stories of such
automotive disruptors, do make sure to read the insightful
articles written by our editorial team.
Have an exciting read!
- Bhushan Bhad
7. h
BuyParts24
Transforming UAE
Automobiles with
Mul -Vendor Online
Auto Parts Marketplace 16
24
32
36
OneClickDrive
For an effortless
car-rental experience
Monte M. Wya
CxO
Mouna Abbassy
CxO
Articles
20 28
Automo ve Industry in
UAE: Transforma onal
Change through
Technology
The Future of
Mobility
Full Thro le
Era of Electrifica on
9. Featuring Brief
Company Name
Ettore Pollicardo
President and CEO
CarSwitch
carswitch.com
Interroll Group
interroll.com
AlgoDriven
algodriven.xyz
BuyParts24
buyparts24.com
Bureau Veritas
group.bureauveritas.com
AlgoDriven is home to engineers, data scientists, and automotive
experts. The company believes in progressing the automotive
industry with data driven solutions.
Bureau Veritas is a world leader in Testing, Inspection and
Certification. Through its wide range of expertise, impartiality
and independence, Bureau Veritas fosters confidence between
companies, public authorities and clients.
BuyParts24 is your digital auto parts marketplace connecting
distributors to workshops, while lowering operational costs,
improving customer reach, expanding market penetration and
providing a seamless trading experience.
CarSwitch takes the entire process off the seller and buyer
hands employing a fleet of certified specialists and cutting edge
technology to inspect, certify, and warranty every car, vet
serious buyers, match them with trusted sellers and guide the
two through the full transaction.
The Interroll Group is the leading global provider of material
handling solutions. Interroll provides system integrators and
OEMs with a wide range of platform-based products and
services.
Glenn Harwood
Co-founder
Alma Aboud
Founder
Imad Hammad
Founder and CEO
Ingo Specht
Managing Director
Sebastian Stefan
CEO
OneClickDrive
oneclickdrive.com
TotalEnergies Global
totalenergies.com
MySyara
mysyara.com
Load-Me
load-me.com
LoadMe is an award-winning truck transport management
system which focuses on matching shippers with carriers.
MySyara offers a convenient, trusted and professional service,
from mobile car washing and detailing to oil changes,
diagnostics and on time servicing.
The OneClickDrive car rental app and website gives you access
to the world's largest car rental and leasing marketplace on your
device.
TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that produces and
markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas
and green gases, renewables and electricity.
Chirenj Chandran
CEO
Vinay Pagarani
Founder and Growth
Manager
Patrick Pouyanne
Chairman of the
Board, CEO
YallaParking
yallaparking.com
YallaParking is the UAE's first and largest online marketplace
for private parking space.
Craig McDonald
Co-founder and CEO
11. Our business is
a peer-to-peer, digital-first
platform that allows users
to buy and sell used
cars directly.
12. When you buy a new car and drive it off the lot, it
depreciates or loses value almost immediately.
This loss is approximately 15% to 20% of its
value each year.
The wholesale value is always less than the original retail
value of the car, and for a well-known brand, this
depreciation can be in significant proportions.
Thus, finance experts always suggest buying a late-model
used car over a new car due to first-year depreciation,
knowing that a new car depreciates the minute you drive it
off the lot.
With the increasing economic literacy, people are investing
their money in beneficial ways. This economic literacy also
changes the social stigma of buying a used car, considering
that someone’s used car can be someone else’s first car.
Hence, the demand for used cars is rising with each passing
day. Looking at this demand, CarSwitch entered the used
cars market to provide comprehensive services for buyers
as well as sellers – from checking and monitoring to
advising and documentation.
In the following interview, Imad Hammad, the Founder
and CEO sheds light on the company’s journey, its
offerings, and the future of the used cars market.
Please brief our audience about CarSwitch, its USPs,
and its position as a leading name in the automotive
space.
Our business is a peer-to-peer, digital-first platform that
allows users to directly buy and sell used cars. Sales are
conducted through a private transaction, protected by
CarSwitch, and this ensures that both the seller and buyer
get the best value, and both remain safe throughout the
transaction. By buying and selling directly through
CarSwitch, users are able to benefit from greater
transparency with our verified vehicle checks and secure
transaction model.
Buying directly from another private individual allows our
users/customers the ability to benefit from better financial
deals. The traditional dealership model will always have to
factor in their margins and overheads, but we’re able to
offer customers a better deal through a model that keeps the
entire transaction crisp, clean, and professional.
Starting with our mobile app, we have introduced a two-
minute financing pre-approval facility, so buyers can get
pre-qualification online and know which cars fit their
wallets. On top of that, the app also tells you that your EMI
(Equated Monthly Instalment) will be based on your chosen
down payment and loan period.
When it comes to securing the loan, CarSwitch handles all
the paperwork and secures the financing from one of the
approved lenders in the UAE. So overall, we have digitized
a difficult and time-consuming process and made it
extremely user-friendly for people looking to buy a car on
finance in the UAE.
Tell us more about CarSwitch’s offerings and what
aspects make it stand out in the industry.
Speed, transparency, and value are the overriding factors in
CarSwitch marking new standards for the industry. Our
financing model is designed with speed in mind allowing
buyers easy access to loans and as much information as
they require to purchase. In the eventuality that there are
outstanding loans on a car, we also manage that process to
take the pain away from the end-user.
Being an experienced leader, share your opinion on how
the adoption of modern technologies like AI and ML is
impacting the automotive industry and how is
CarSwitch adapting to the change?
While the terms Artificial Intelligence and Machine
Learning are usually heard in the automotive industry in
connection to self-driving cars, car manufacturing, and
route navigation, it’d be a mistake to overlook its impact in
the used cars industry.
We’re able to offer
customers a better deal
through a model that keeps
the entire transaction crisp,
clean, and professional.
UAE's Fatsest Growing Automotive Companies 2022
15. Imad has led CarSwitch since its launch
in 2016. Since then, he has raised over
$10M in funding, growing the business
32x, reaching $100m in annual car sales.
Through Imad’s leadership, the
CarSwitch platform now has over 500k
app users and has led the platform to
become one of the highest-rated
automotive experiences on both the iOS
App and Google Play Store.
Imad’s background is in consulting at
McKinsey & Company, and he spent over
ten years working across 10+ developed
and emerging markets. This has allowed
him to understand the needs of an
evolving industry as well as develop
mechanisms to communicate effectively
with and respond to the needs of a very
disparate consumer base.
With CarSwitch, he’s been able to create
a platform that combines the increasingly
digital needs of a younger, hyper-
connected consumer and aligns this with
the evolving trends of the used car
market.
Buyers and Sellers will always exist but
finding the right platform on which they
can conduct their business easily,
underscored by the verifiable trust, has
always been the key. Core to the business
strategy has been Imad’s long-term
aspirations for the brand.
November 2021 has been the next step
for this with the rollout of the platform in
Saudi Arabia. Imad will continue to lead
CarSwitch’s Middle East expansion plans
to make the platform a go-to site for the
used car market across the region.
With the used car industry booming, and more and more
people looking to buy and sell cars using online channels,
there is an abundance of data on our hands to provide a
‘smarter’ experience to customers.
At CarSwitch, we’ve gone all-in on the use of AI/ML. Our
car recommendation engine analyses user behavior and
determines patterns to suggest the most suitable cars for
your needs. The recommendations are not just based on
obvious facets like the year, make, model of the car but also
whether the car is considered ‘premium’ or ‘reliable’ and
based on your viewing history and those of other customers,
the algorithm knows exactly which car to pitch to you!
Our car valuator is another AI-backed area where we marry
historical transactions data, current market trends, and car
conditions to determine the most suitable price for your car.
And at CarSwitch, we like to put our money where our
mouth is, so when you list your car on CarSwitch, we make
you an instant cash offer for your car, based on our
algorithm’s recommendation. At CarSwitch, we believe
we’ve barely scratched the surface of what AI/ML can help
us achieve. There’s a long road ahead, and we’re excited to
be on this.
About the Leader
We’ve just been awarded the title of Most Trusted
Pre-Owned Car Dealership Company by Dubai MEA
Business Awards 2021, which has been a great
achievement for the team.
We are the highest-rated iOS and Android Play Store
app with over 500k app users. Over the last year,
we’ve grown by ≈ 40% alone. Talking about Organic
web traffic, we have grown 100% and in Direct Web
Traffic, more than 40%.
Speed, transparency,
and value are the overriding
factors in CarSwitch marking
new standards for the industry.
Demonstrating Excellence
16. Considering the current pandemic, what initial
challenges did you face, and how did you drive the
company to sustain operations while ensuring the safety
of your employees at the same time?
Like all businesses, over the last 18 months, we’ve had to
adapt to a rapidly evolving environment. Our business is
digital-first which meant that our period of adjustment was
less painful than others in the industry. We don’t have
forecourts; therefore, our business isn’t built on the need to
have large numbers congregating. When someone is
looking to sell their car, we send one qualified technician
who can test the vehicle, take the photos, and advise you.
After that, the entire process is online.
We manage so many aspects of the sales process that we
were able to still provide customers with information about
the industry and their cars and allow people to research
potential acquisitions during the early lockdowns.
Once things opened up, some customers were still
understandably hesitant about interacting with multiple
parties to buy or sell a car, so factoring in our health and
safety protocols, we were able to reduce that worry for
them.
The reality of many retail channels over the past 18 months
has been how customers could actually view products. Our
model was built with the digital element upfront, allowing
buyers to research and view multiple cars directly from
their phones, ask questions, and arrange test drives. For the
test drives, we manage that process for them as well, so our
customers can feel confident about the process progressing
even when they are not on site.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs
who aspire to venture into the automotive industry?
Watch the road ahead and be ready to change gear. Listen to
your teams, your customers and give them what they want.
This is something that we are deeply committed to as we
grow. We’ve recently completed a market research study in
the UAE to better understand market needs, and the
findings from that directly feed into how we are planning to
move forward in 2022.
Invest in your technology but do so with customers in mind.
Technology without purpose is a waste of time, money, and
resources. From our website, AI, CRM systems, and partner
relationships, we’ve been looking to enhance our
technology to serve the customers’ needs first. We’ll
continue to evolve, but with every step we take, we’ll keep
focusing on tomorrow’s market needs and what our
customers are telling us today.
How do you envision scaling CarSwitch’s operations
and offerings in 2022 and beyond?
We’ve just launched our company in Saudi Arabia and are
very excited about this. The Saudi market represents over
35% of all GCC sales in the region and is on the steepest
growth trajectories globally. In the first quarter of 2021,
KSA accounted for 1.5% of global sales – a 28% growth in
absolute volume of sales.
The growth in Saudi is being driven by young people.
Almost 70% of the population is under 30, with 50% being
under 25. If you look at the wider issues of a relatively
limited public transportation network, then the pattern for
an increasingly mobile population has to follow. And since
the structural change in KSA, the growth is certainly being
accelerated by women being able to drive independently.
All of this is critical in how we are looking to tap into this
massive market.
We like to put our money
where our mouth is!
18. Everyone is affectionate with their vehicles and
always desires to buy nothing but the best spare
parts available when in need. Although, due to the
unavailability of options, people usually settle for
whichever time-saving option is available in the market.
Such a situation arises due to an unorganized condition of
the spare parts marketplace. There is a lack of
interconnected communication channels between
distributors, workshops, fleet owners, and operators, and
they are not well-connected in the market. With the goal of
solving these challenges once and for all, BuyParts24 was
launched by Alma Aboud (Founder) in JAFZA, Dubai.
Today, the company is a leading multi-vendor auto parts
marketplace in the UAE region. Using its online platform,
anyone can find the best spare parts for any make, model,
and version of a car in the UAE.
BuyParts24 platform also strengthens sellers by boosting
their brand and provides instant, market-driven data, and
analytics. It offers the widest quality and price-competitive
auto parts product portfolio across all categories.
We got a chance to interview the pioneering Alma and
learned more about her innovative platform looking to
reshape the UAE's spare parts marketplace to the next level.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Please brief our audience about your company, its USPs,
and how it is currently positioned as a leading
automotive company.
BuyParts24 is a first mover of its kind in the UAE as an
innovative, digital business-to-business (B2B) auto parts
marketplace. Suppliers and buyers can access the platform
via the web, the app store, the play store, and the app
gallery.
BuyParts24 connects distributors with garages, workshops,
fleet owners, and operators. Until now, no single entity has
been able to solve the same market problems by bringing
these parties together on a single, neutral platform where
they can all mutually benefit.
Starting with a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), part
number, or even a make and model is combined with a
powerful search capability, complemented by Artificial
Intelligence (A.I).
As a result, BuyParts24 is truly helping to redefine the
efficiency of finding the right genuine or aftermarket
alternative automotive parts. Further underpinning the
We do not simply
aggregate the
current spare
parts market, we
enhance it.
UAE's Fastest Growing Automo ve Companies 2022
|February 2022 www.insightssuccess.com
16 17
20. typical sub-distributor-focused flows, the BuyParts24
marketplace lays out a more direct supply route. Thereby, it
also helps cut operational expenses, increase reach, and
optimize market penetration. Never before have authorized
suppliers had the ability to instantly connect with thousands
of qualified buyers.
BuyParts24 is a member of the Ghassan Aboud Group
(GAG)—a multi-disciplined conglomerate founded in 1994.
Since its launch, BuyParts24 has not merely aggregated the
spare parts market; it has redefined it.
Today, BuyParts24 has become the UAE region's largest
online auto parts marketplace. And it is the destination of
choice for over 3,500 interested buyers, as well as all of the
leading authorized distributors and trusted suppliers.
Growing every day, the product portfolio brings together
over 50,000 of the fastest moving parts, instantly searchable
and comparable to qualified alternatives.
Shed some light on your distinct offerings and how they
impact the automotive industry and your clients.
BuyParts24 is a one-stop-shop for buyers; it offers the
widest product range across all parts categories at a variety
of price points, as well as logistics and delivery solutions.
The marketplace only onboards verified and trusted parts
sellers and brands to guarantee the highest quality at all
times. Due to its instant quality parts availability and
express delivery promise, buyers rely on the marketplace to
prevent loss of time or revenue.
On the other hand, the BuyParts24 marketplace empowers
sellers by boosting their brand and provides instant, market-
driven data, and analytics.
BuyParts24 supports a shift towards the digital world where
sellers can streamline their deliveries and seamlessly
manage their operations, from listing their products to
tracking their inventory, orders, promotions, offers, and
returns. In addition to being a centralized digital outlet and
an additional distribution channel, the BuyParts24
marketplace helps sellers construct informed, data-driven
decisions based on business insights and dashboards.
Both buyers and sellers get to experience unparalleled
service through live chat and call centers.
The Ambitious Leader
Brought up in a family of business owners, Alma Aboud
was exposed to business topics o en.
From casual conversa ons to business mee ngs with
industry leaders and interna onal events such as the latest
Forbes 30/50 Summit, a global event gathering genera ons
of women from both the "30 Under 30" list and the "50
Over 50" list, Alma has done it all.
The entrepreneurial focus of her upbringing had a las ng
impact on her and her siblings. While bureaucracy,
technology, financial chats, and debates about women in
society are topics that are hard to digest for some, Alma
found herself deba ng such subjects at a young age during
dinner-table conversa ons.
Women's underrepresenta on in fields such as the
automo ve and logis cs industry fascinated Alma. She had
a lot of ques ons and was curious about numerous things,
but she knew she could not accept this as the norm.
When businesses were uniquely impacted by COVID-19,
Alma was ques oning what that meant to companies. She
read various ar cles about businesses, especially in the
automo ve industry, how they pumped the brakes hard
globally due to the pandemic. She also observed the world
as it transi oned to digital, some fully, others hybrid. She
thought to herself, why not? This ques on, "Why not?" was
the trigger of a lot of research. What are the challenges
that businesses in the automo ve and a ermarket
industries face? How can she solve them? Is digi za on the
answer? What will it take to convince all those par es to
entrust Alma?
Long conversa ons with industry professionals and her
father, Ghassan Aboud, founder of the leading company in
regional and interna onal automo ve re-export and supply
chain solu ons, Ghassan Aboud Cars and Spare Parts were
the first roots to establishing BuyParts24.
Alma is now the founder of the BuyParts24 marketplace.
She works closely with the business development team,
the product development team, the business intelligence
team, and others to ensure that BuyParts24 con nues to
solve challenges industry specialists encounter.
|February 2022 www.insightssuccess.com
18
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Being an experienced leader, share your opinion on how
the adoption of modern technologies has impacted the
automotive industry and how is your company riding
the technology wave?
The industry is changing drastically because the end
consumer is evolving. Every individual in the supply chain
has an impact on how companies conduct business.
With customers' increased awareness of technological
innovations, expectations are elevated. The automotive
aftermarket is realizing that power shift and is pivoting
accordingly. There is no denying that the technology wave
brings with it its own challenges, but it also smoothens out
processes and achieves a seamless experience. These are
some of the things that the UAE's quality-conscious and
convenience-driven communities demand.
BuyParts24 quickly realized that, thus, it created a new
win-win situation or platform. BuyParts24 used technology
in its favor and has created a marketplace that efficiently
consolidates the supply chain process with complete end-to-
end accountability. It is built to be the first step in
accelerating effective parts selection and thereby enabling
more efficient allocation of highly valuable labor time.
BuyParts24 uses a unique VIN-driven data methodology,
coupled with AI tools, to cement its position as the primary
destination for multi-vendor and genuine parts search.
Furthermore, BuyParts24 provides an innovative and
instantly scalable pipeline via its business-to-business
marketplace model to OEM, OES, or IAM sellers
(vendors), further enhanced by intuitive data analytics and
decision-supportive insights.
Complementing technology with human interaction,
BuyParts24 is backed up by a devoted on-the-ground team
who work tirelessly to support sellers and buyers through
their journey and support the transition from physical to
digital.
However, the BuyParts24 marketplace is built based on
digitization and aims to save time, cost, and effort, whilst
increasing effectiveness, results, understanding, and
revenue through technology.
Considering the current pandemic, what initial
challenges did you face and how did you drive the
company to sustain operations while ensuring the safety
of your employees at the same time?
There is not a single industry that has not been impacted by
COVID-19. The automotive industry, for one, has been a
hot topic among many during that period. Whilst challenges
were present, BuyParts24 chose to find solutions and meet
the expectations of its partners and users, simplifying their
operations and filling the gaps in communication that
occurred as a result of quarantine.
For BuyParts24, it was all about resilience and consistency.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs
who aspire to venture into the automotive space?
You do not need to reinvent the wheel; you just need to
identify a gap in the market that you can capitalize on. Do
your homework, read the room, and study all parties
involved in the process. Listen to experts and leaders and
listen to those who are starting off their careers, no matter
what their title is. This will help you identify issues, and
sometimes find effective solutions.
How do you envision scaling your organization's
operations and offerings in 2022 and beyond?
BuyParts24 plans to focus on the below key areas and
operations to grow its market hold in 2022 and beyond.
Ÿ Tackling the challenge of grey imports into the
UAE and counterfeit products which could be a
health and safety hazard.
Ÿ Data-driven decision-making for buyers and
sellers
Ÿ Supporting public entities with insights on how to
augment the automotive spare parts market in the
region and the potential impacts this may have on
city planning.
Ÿ Bringing structure and organization to a rather
disorganized market
Ÿ Supporting public entities with the need to bring
standardization to the workshops and garages in
terms of quality, safety, certification, and assurance
Ÿ Impacting a change in customer behavior towards
the future of online commerce within an industry
that is rather traditional in the region, thus
accelerating the digital revolution of the region to
reach global standards.
|February 2022 www.insightssuccess.com
19
22. AUTOMOTIVE
Industry in UAE:
Transformational Change through Technology
he automotive sector is undergoing rapid change as
Ta result of digitization. Autonomous driving,
electric vehicles, speedier connection, and artificial
intelligence are all changing the way people travel in cities.
As technology advances, so do requirements and
expectations.
To some extent, urbanization has influenced this progress.
Mobility choices fluctuate as a city develops and flourishes,
depending on the traveler's lifestyle. Consider how
restricted life would be in Dubai if you couldn't use the
subway to get to the Mall of the Emirates, for example.
Excellent metro connectivity, ride-sharing app availability,
and the development of electric and hybrid vehicle options
have all become critical in addressing local mobility needs
and expectations.
The challenge, on the other hand, is to create the future of
mobility while anticipating both government and citizen
expectations in order to assure safer, more efficient, and
environmentally friendly alternatives.
Congestion, pollution, and a lack of access to public
transportation networks are all becoming more of a
concern. As a result, it is critical to comprehend changes in
traffic and transportation systems.
|February 2022 www.insightssuccess.com
20 21
24. That being established, the automobile industry is
undergoing significant change, particularly in the Middle
East. This change would not have been possible without
technological integration and digitalization.
Vehicle Automation Bringing the Next Big Change
In the mobility sector, there are several levels of autonomy.
While certain means of transportation, such as the
driverless Dubai Metro, provide a higher level of autonomy,
others still require the driver's control.
While self-driving technologies are deployed in the vehicle,
levels one to three require the driver to assume control of
the vehicle in order to preserve overall safety. While park
assist, lane assist, and adaptive cruise control are examples
of highly successful self-driving technology in personal
automobiles, they do not make a vehicle totally
autonomous.
For instance, the front and rear cross-traffic alert system,
which alerts the driver of an impending collision, aids in the
utilization of the car's maximum braking capacity to avoid
an accident; yet, it still requires overall control from the
driver.
Personal vehicles will become totally autonomous as
technology advances, allowing passengers to travel long
distances with complete independence. These vehicles are
supposed to be electric, human error-free, and incredibly
efficient, which is great news for the environment.
Autonomous cars can even be trained to 'speak' to one
another, which means that if a particular road is congested,
the cars can communicate and recommend a different path.
Furthermore, this technology has the potential to lessen the
likelihood of traffic collisions.
While this isn't likely to happen quickly, the UAE
government has already begun laying the groundwork for
seamless and successful integration by establishing
autonomous vehicle standards and rules.
Saving the Environment with E-Mobility
The transition to electric vehicles is a technological
requirement for fully autonomous vehicles, and the
environmental benefits and cheaper maintenance costs they
provide are critical for the future. The worldwide car sector
has been aggressively pursuing electrification. By 2025,
Volkswagen plans to sell over 20 all-electric cars
worldwide.
The automotive industry is collaborating with technology
experts and government agencies to create integrated
systems that are better suited to modern lifestyles. Electric
automobiles, on the other hand, are still considered
specialist products and have yet to become a mainstream
option.
That needs to change.
It's also promising that the UAE is one of the most
established markets for electric vehicles in the Middle East,
thanks to the installation of many charging stations around
Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Towards a Greener Future
The UAE is already paving the way for autonomous
transportation with its Dubai Autonomous Transportation
Strategy, which intends to transition 25% of Dubai's total
transportation to autonomous mode by 2030. Achieving this
goal would provide significant financial benefits as well as a
significant reduction in the city's carbon footprint.
Self-driving automobiles' widespread adoption in the future
holds a lot of potential. A more sustainable future requires
less traffic and road collisions, as well as a lower carbon
impact.
Carbon-neutral and sustainable mobility is not only an
attainable goal in the UAE in the near to medium term, but
it is also inevitable, according to the government's agenda.
The automobile industry is experiencing both exciting and
challenging times.
- Trishika Rokade
|February 2022 www.insightssuccess.com
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26. If you are planning a trip to the UAE, and making it
memorable is your top priority, you will learn that all
the places on your bucket list are far spread across the
region. From the magnificent Burj Khalifa to the popular
shopping malls, the beautiful palm islands and driving back
to the resort of your choice, the best way to travel is by car.
How wonderful it would be if you can avail your favourite
car to take you to any place your heart desires?
Renting a car is time-saving and far more comfortable
compared to public transport, which pretty much feels like
owning a car! You can self-drive it, or ask for a professional
chauffeur, with the best rates guaranteed.
Fascinated by innovative solutions, seamless service, and
added perks that let customers skip hefty maintenance and
insurance, the for-hire-vehicle industry has received
customers in growing numbers. A lot of them also prefer
renting a car for a prolonged period of time, which makes it
luxuriously convenient. Feels like a dream, right? Only that
it isn't!
OneClickDrive caters and comprehensively delivers, all of
the above intriguing features and even more.
OneClickDrive works with more than 100 car rental
suppliers across the United Arab Emirates, serving an
exciting car rental marketplace, that has revolutionized the
face of car rentals in the UAE and is poised to bring a
global revolution.
Visionary Co-founder and Growth Manager, Vinay
Pagarani, shared his outlook for the blooming car rental
industry and experiences along his journey with the
company in an interview with Insights Success. Below are
some experts from the interview:
Please brief our audience about your company, its USPs,
and how it is currently positioned as a leading
automotive company.
OneClickDrive is the UAE's biggest car rental marketplace
with 120+ car rental companies and 1300+ car rental
listings. The OneClickDrive website and car rental apps are
among the top portals to finding the best car rental deals.
It is free for users to compare offers and book a car directly
with the service provider. You can find and book any car
under the sun. From a convertible Ferrari and an exotic
For an effortless car-rental experience
For an effortless car-rental experience
UAE's Fastest Growing Automotive Companies 2022
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Rolls Royce to an economy Nissan Sunny and even a
Toyota Land Cruiser SUV.
Shed some light on your distinct offerings and how they
impact the automotive industry and your clients?
OneClickDrive.com works with 150+ car rental suppliers
across the UAE. From budget car rentals to the most exotic,
luxury, and sports cars which can be hired by residents as
well as tourists. Combining all our suppliers' rental fleet,
you can choose among 50,000 cars to hire a car in Dubai
starting at AED 100 per day, across all car types, brands,
models available in the UAE. You can rent a small car such
as a Kia Picanto and even the Lamborghini Urus for AED
3500/day with Rolls Royce Cullinan 2019 for AED
4000/day.
Over the years, OneClickDrive has delivered a huge
amount of business to our listed partners: as high as 20
check-outs within a day. We have bolstered the car rental
industry in the region. Some of our clients have been
working with us right since the company's inception in
2015. In fact, we have witnessed them doubling and some
even quadrupling their fleet over the years.
Please brief us about the featured person's(s) journey in
the industry and how they have contributed to the firm's
success.
I (Vinay Pagarani) work closely with the web/app
development team and the sales team, keeping the user's
needs at the forefront while keeping the interests of his
clients in mind is where he spends most of his time and
effort. A healthy balance has contributed to OneClickDrive's
success.
Considering the current pandemic, what initial
challenges did you face and how did you drive the
company to sustain operations while ensuring the safety
of your employees at the same time?
OneClickDrive came into existence at a time when the car
rental industry was predominantly offline in Dubai. Most
shops depended on walk-in customers and outbound
telesales. It was an arduous task to get them online and to
adopt inbound marketing strategies. Yet the companies that
partnered with us are with us to date. They understood that
their TA (target audience) in the region is modern and
always online.
OneClickDrive's
main objective is
to standardize the
industry, streamline
its operations and
improve customer
service.
Vinay Pagarani
- Growth Manager
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28. Cut to the pandemic when walk-in customers completely
vanished for the industry. However, Dubai handled the
pandemic extremely well as compared to any other city in
the world. The city lockdown and airport closure lasted
only a few days. Covid regulations were set in place and the
public was allowed to move about. We are thankful to the
visionary administrative mindset of Sheikh Mohammed and
UAE leaders.
We saw it as an opportunity in disguise and scaled up our
digital marketing activities. Users found our partners' fleet
on OneClickDrive and booked with them instantaneously. A
lot more companies came on board soon after.
How do you envision scaling your organization's
operations and offerings in 2022 and beyond?
We are working on a CRM SAAS for the car rental
industry. One that's closely aligned with the local UAE
market and, moving forward, as per international markets.
This will catapult OneClickDrive to new heights in the
region. Our main objective is to standardize the industry,
streamline its operations and improve customer service.
OneClickDrive is poised to expand globally. We hope to
enter the European market as the COVID regulations are
put at ease. While we already work with a number of
companies online, a local presence would speed things up.
30. The
Futureof
Mobility
obility's future is at a fork in the road. In 2020,
Mworldwide auto sales would total 59.5 million
units, down 20% from the previous year. Despite
the unmistakable influence of the COVID-19 epidemic,
various mobility developments in recent years have already
sent the vehicle industry into a tailspin.
Continue reading to learn about the key mobility trends that
are accelerating change in this business as we head into a
very different mobility future.
Electrification of Vehicles
That distant hum is the sound of the mobility notion
evolving—for the better. While there are still obstacles to
the electrification of the vehicle fleet, there are also
opportunities worth fighting for. This is especially true in
cities, where pollution, traffic, and safety are important
concerns nowadays. As population and GDP development
drive higher automobile ownership and vehicle kilometers
traveled, mobility issues will worsen if the current quo
persists. As a result, the mobility industry is unleashing a
dazzling array of technologies aimed at urban roadways,
including mobility-as-a-service, enhanced traffic control
and parking systems, freight-sharing solutions, and novel
two- and three-wheeled transportation models.
To speed up the transition to sustainable mobility,
governments and cities have implemented rules and
incentives. Emissions targets are being set more stringently
by regulators around the world. Cities are attempting to
reduce private automobile use and congestion by providing
more support for alternate forms of transportation, such as
bicycles. Car access controls are also being implemented in
several urban areas. In reality, over 150 European towns
have already enacted low-emissions and pollution-related
access regulations.
Mobility as a Service
Although not everyone has heard of the term 'Mobility as a
Service,' or MaaS, as it is known in the transportation
industry, if you've recently taken an Uber or even a
traditional cab, you may be familiar with the basic notion.
MaaS, on the other hand, is much more than just app-based
ridesharing. It represents an entirely new way of thinking
about mobility and transportation, one that is directly linked
to the origins of today's smart city.
The concept is straightforward at its foundation. Rather
than siloing transportation services into distinct funnels as
they are today, MaaS aims to better integrate them, saving
users time and money.
Vehicle to Everything (V2X)
The world is filled with perplexing acronyms, and V2X is
no different. The term "vehicle-to-everything," or V2X,
means all of a vehicle's connected communications. The
main concept is that a vehicle may (or will be able to) use
its onboard communication facilities to transmit real-time
traffic information, respond to changing road conditions in
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32. advance, detect road signs and warnings, and more. While
V2X functions alone will not be able to manage a vehicle
devoid of a driver, they are key components in an
autonomous vehicle's ability to put together a picture of its
surroundings.
Autonomous Driving Technology
A self-driving car is one that can sense its surroundings and
function without the necessity for human intervention. A
human passenger does not need to take control of the car at
any point, nor is a human passenger need to be present in
the vehicle at all. A self-driving automobile can go
anywhere a traditional car can go and accomplish
everything a skilled human driver can do.
Sensors, actuators, complicated algorithms, machine
learning systems, and powerful processors are used to run
software in autonomous vehicles.
Based on a number of sensors located in the entire vehicle,
autonomous automobiles develop and maintain a map of
their surroundings. Radar sensors keep a check on the
movement of adjacent cars. Traffic signals are detected by
video cameras, which also read road signs, monitor other
vehicles, and look for pedestrians. Lidar (light detection and
ranging) sensors estimate distances, detect road boundaries,
and recognize lane markers by bouncing light pulses off the
car's surroundings. When parking, ultrasonic sensors in the
wheels detect curbs and other vehicles.
After processing all of this sensory data, sophisticated
software maps a path and delivers commands to the car's
actuators, which control acceleration, braking, and steering.
The software follows traffic rules and navigates obstacles
thanks to hard-coded rules, obstacle avoidance algorithms,
predictive modeling, and object identification.
Conclusion
Companies and organizations should think about how to
grow in numerous markets and segments, as well as how
their supporting operating models are set up. To design
trustworthy solutions to move people and products, a new
mix of cross-sectoral competencies is necessary.
Collaboration between participants from many industries
will become increasingly important for encouraging
innovation.
The change will not be led by a single company or sector in
the private sector. Instead, the extraordinary collaboration
will be required to develop accurate and integrated mobility
solutions, particularly among digital behemoths with the
financial resources to support research and innovation in
these fields.
From the standpoint of the public sector, a collaboration
between the public and private sectors, as represented by
large high-tech firms, should be encouraged as much as
feasible. Governments should encourage the growth of the
four emerging trends discussed in this article, with a focus
on how to drive investment into areas that may be used to
benefit the country.
The disruption will very certainly be massive, presenting
both opportunities and hazards.
- Trishika Rokade
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34. UAE-based Moroccan beauty brand izil's constant
transformation and evolution to meet the changing
customer expectations have resulted in a 500% Y-
O-Y growth of the brand over the years.
Founder Mouna Abbassy started her retail journey with
selling products on facebook and then opening six kiosks in
different malls in the UAE until 2016. In 2016, Abbassy
decided to close all the existing kiosks and open a singular
kiosk in Dubai Mall and launch an e-commerce website.
izil opened its own GMP-certified manufacturing
facility in Ras Al Khaimah in 2019. Subsequently,
a year later, on June 30th, 2020, a unique
flagship store was launched in the Dubai Mall
after another brand revamp.
From kiosks to agship store:
izil's transformation that delivered
500% growth
"Firstly, we learnt that The Dubai Mall
gave us enough visibility. Secondly, we
needed to focus on growing the e-
commerce, and finally, converting all the
kiosks to the new design would have been
very costly for the brand", said Mouna
Abbassy, explaining why they decided to
close all kiosks and open one unified flagship
store.
The introduction of the flagship store strengthened
sales further and provided more stability than its
previous kiosks. "It definitely helped the business
financially thanks to higher sales than the previous kiosk,
but it is also a long term investment in a concept that we are
planning to franchise in the future once it is completed," she
added.
Up until 2020, Saudi Arabia was izil's biggest market, but
after the second revamp, opening of the new store and
strengthening of its e-commerce portfolio, the UAE is now
its primary market.
"The UAE growth was much stronger during the covid
pandemic. Moreover, the implementation of the 15% VAT
in Saudi plus stricter rules at the customs made it harder for
us to sell in Saudi Arabia (we sell exclusively through e-
commerce in that market). However, we still see it as the
biggest GCC market in terms of potential and we are taking
the necessary measures to develop izil there," she
concluded.
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39. com
Lead People,
Manage Processes
- Especially in Challenging Times
Leadership and management are
terms frequently interchanged
within the workplace. Both
concepts are interconnected, but they
do not mean the same thing. By
understanding the differences between
them, you will learn the importance of
leadership in management and how
leadership development will allow you
to be a better manager overall.
"Leadership is not about position. It's
about action." – Pulling Profits out of a
Hat
As a business executive, management
is handed to you along with your job
title. A manager's job is to plan,
organize and coordinate. Leadership,
however, is a responsibility where
managers innovate, challenge, and
inspire their employees. You manage
processes; you lead people.
In business, we need both leaders
and managers:
"Leadership creates passionate and
focused people, management oversees
processes, so the team is competent
and productive." – Pulling Profits out
of a Hat
Within a business, we need both
leaders and managers. Leaders inspire
people to take action. Managers hold
people accountable for those actions.
Anyone in the organization has the
potential to become a leader, but
managers must be leaders. A leader
who cannot manage has a vision of
where they want to go but no idea on
how to get there. A manager who
cannot lead is not able to build trust
and create engagement within an
organization to get to where they need
to go.
To better understand the differences
between management and leadership,
think about the daily routines of the
managers and leaders in your
organization. Managers facilitate 1-on-
1's with their direct reports, creating
clear expectations and holding their
team accountable for meeting them.
Managers also hold team meetings for
direction and communication,
revisiting and tracking progress
towards quarterly goals. Lastly, a
manager reviews the actions and
results of each individual and team to
determine their performance.
A leader's daily routine is different –
they focus on the big picture of the
company, helping to inspire others
through support and consistency. A
leader shows appreciation to team
members, gives awards and accolades
when deserved. A leader also focuses
on the personal development of each
individual and team, working to foster
the communication and feedback
needed to make the organization
stronger.
Behind every innovative company lies
a charismatic leader who pushes and
inspires his or her employees to be the
best. As Steve Jobs was to Apple and
Jack Welch to GE, great CEOs are
known for more than their
management skills. They offer a
different approach outside the norm
and motivate their followers to execute
their vision to reach their business
goals.
Executive leaders instill a corporate
culture in their organizations that
encourage employees to stay engaged
in their work. Employees are given
recognition and are shown
appreciation. By focusing on
employees as well as the overall big
picture, executive leaders help their
people play to their strengths to reach
their organizational goals.
Keys for leadership development:
As a manager, are you a leader?
Leadership can be learned, and you
should continue to grow as a leader
through education and coaching. As an
executive, you spend a lot of time and
valuable resources training your staff
on how to be managers. It is important
to also teach executives how to be
leaders.
All growth companies must be training
and development companies. Every
person in your organization should
have a personal development plan,
including yourself!
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