Saudi car rental firm achieves 40 percent growth in 2020 Mon, 2021-05-31 00:09 DUBAI: It wasnt a great year is how Ahmed Al-Lawendy, chief operating officer of Aljomaih Auto Rental (Ajar), sums up 2020. However, despite the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and some of its vehicles being grounded due to travel restrictions during the lockdown, the company still registered double-digit growth, with 2020 being its first year of profitability. So it is a little bit contradictory, Al-Lawendy told Arab News. Ajar is a subsidiary of Aljomaih Holding and is the master franchisee of the Enterprise, National, and Alamo car rental brands in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the Levant, and Austria. Missouri-based Enterprise Holdings, Inc. is the largest car rental company in the world, and Ajar was established in 2015 and began trading in May 2018. According to a report by the Research And Markets company, the vehicle rental market in Saudi Arabia is forecast to grow by 7.5 percent per annum between 2020 and 2026. Despite Al-Lawendy describing 2020 as not a great year, Ajar grew by 40 percent year-on-year and is forecast to grow by about the same figure in 2021. January 2021 was much better than 2019 or 2020, so it is getting better, he said.