Is Dubai’s Mercedes dealer Gargash getting into ride-hailing and car subscription services?

Is Dubai’s Mercedes dealer Gargash getting into ride-hailing and car subscription services?

Dubai: What can auto dealerships in the UAE come up with next? They already sell some of the most popular or coveted models, their after-sales operations are motoring on nicely, and, these days, they are tapping aggressively into demand for pre-owned vehicles. It needn’t stop with that… The Dubai-headquartered Gargash Group, the Mercedes dealership, is thinking of doing so in digital ways. “Ride-hailing and subscription services are being assessed by our teams at the moment,” said Walid Hizaoui, Group Chief Strategy Officer at the company. “Once our feasibility study is complete and we have a clearer picture of our expansion plans, we will announce.” If Gargash does get into either/both of these emerging mobility businesses, they could well set the template in a sector dominated by pure-tech startups such as Uber, udrive, ekar and others who have muscled their way into reckoning. Pay-per-kilometer and monthly car subscription services have in the last two years made enough inroads with users here, and there is nothing to suggest it will be any different this year. According to auto industry sources, other dealerships in the UAE and across the Gulf too have been watching this space closely. “The dealerships have the inventory –