AW Rostamani Group’s car rental unit to invest Dhs 400m in expansion

Shift Car Rental, part of car dealer AW Rostamani Group, has announced that it will invest about Dhs 400m over the next five years to expand its operations.

The funds are expected to help the car rental unit double its fleet and expand across the UAE through a large number of car rental counters.

The company also plans to re-locate to a new facility at Al Quoz that will be managed by Arabian Automobiles.

Shift Car Rental currently has over 650 clients and a fleet of over 5000 vehicles. The company aims to increase its fleet to over 10,000 cars by 2020.

Car rental companies, which saw a hit during the recession, have recorded strong growth over the last two years as tourism to the country rebounded.

The UAE’s car rental market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10 per cent year-on-year, according to a new report by Euromonitor International. By 2017, the industry is expected to reach a value of Dhs 2.1bn, up 59 per cent from 2012.

Dubai, which is targeting to attract about 20 million visitors by 2020, is one of the strongest markets for car rental firms.

In line with that, non-airport car rental is estimated to grow the fastest among all segments at 14 per cent, the report added.

Cars are a popular mode of transport among UAE residents and visitors but it is yet to be seen how the recent deregulation of fuel prices in the country could impact the sector’s growth.