The electric vehicle market in the Middle East is undergoing a radical transformation, emerging as a focal point in the region’s efforts to embrace sustainable transportation, and electric vehicles have gained significant traction across the region.
The Middle East electric vehicle market is expected to reach USD 3.33 billion in 2024, rising to USD 9.42 billion in 2029, at a CAGR of 23.2%, according to a comprehensive report by Mordor Intelligence.
The Middle East electric vehicle market reflects a diverse landscape, featuring a range of electric vehicle models from different manufacturers. Moreover, consumer interest is growing, not only due to environmental awareness, but also through the cost savings associated with the operational efficiency of electric vehicles, while government incentives and tax exemptions are further driving the market growth.
The countries of the region are seeking to enter the world of manufacturing electric cars instead of being an import market for this type of car only, as governments in many countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, the Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman are working to enter this market strongly, by establishing partnerships with global manufacturing companies to create joint projects to manufacture and assemble electric cars in these countries.
In this report, we will present to you the 7 most prominent electric car manufacturing companies in the Arab region.
1- Eco Transit Company
Headquartered in Lusail City, Qatar, it is the first Qatari company working in electric vehicles, and seeks to establish an integrated industry for light and heavy electric vehicles under the VIM brand.
The company seeks to launch a group of electric cars and vehicles with several modern models and designs, in addition to a group of buses with pure Qatari intellectual property as well.
The company offers a wide range of customization options, including exterior colors, interior finishes, and technological features from small city cars to large family SUVs, enabling its customers to design a car that reflects their unique personalities, according to its website.
The first Qatari electric car is distinguished by being a strategic choice for a smart and sustainable transportation sector, as it contains various driving systems and is equipped with advanced safety systems to ensure the safety and comfort of the driver and passengers while driving.
The new VIM SUV relies on a new generation of electric motors and highly efficient batteries, giving it a range of up to 615 kilometres on a single charge, according to a previous report by Al Jazeera Net.
2- More than one company operates in Morocco, which manufactures 40 thousand electric cars.
Morocco has joined the ranks of electric car manufacturing countries after reaching a production capacity of 40,000 electric cars annually, according to Moroccan Industry Minister Riady Mezzour, which could enable it to enter international competition. In May, the Moroccan Minister of Industry said in an interview with the Washington-based Energy Platform that his country aims to increase electric car production to 100,000 by 2025.
Morocco began experimenting with manufacturing its first electric car in 2020, as the French company Citroen announced the manufacture of the first electric car at its factory in the city of Kenitra, northwest of the Kingdom, in June 2020.
The French company Renault also entered the electric car manufacturing line in Morocco in 2022, when it announced the start of manufacturing the first electric car for the French company Renault at the Tangier factory in the north of the country. The Italian company Fiat also announced the manufacture of the electric car “Tololino” in Morocco, in addition to other models.
The Moroccan government recently gave the green light to Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer BTR to build a factory near Tangier to produce battery cathodes, a 3 billion dirham (about $300 million) project that includes the construction of a factory to produce cathodes, which are a key component in electric vehicle batteries. The first phase of this factory is scheduled to be ready starting in September 2026, according to the specialized energy platform.
3- Mays Motors
Mice Motors is a local Omani electric vehicle manufacturing startup in Barka, Oman, which signed an investment agreement with the Oman Technology Fund in 2020 to produce high-performance electric vehicles.
The first electric car of its production is scheduled to be launched at the end of this year 2024. It is a car called “Mays-Alive”, which travels more than 500 kilometers on a single charge, and accelerates from rest to reach a speed of 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds. It is priced at 15,900 Omani riyals (about 41 thousand dollars). Mays Motors has set a goal of producing 500 cars in the first phase, but it is considering increasing production due to the increase in demand.
4- Sir Company
Established in 2022, Ser Motors is the first Saudi brand to manufacture electric cars, according to its website. It is a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Taiwanese company Foxconn.
The company announced the project to establish the “Sir Electric Car Manufacturing Complex” in King Abdullah Economic City, on an area of one million square meters, with a total building area of approximately 530 thousand square meters. The industrial complex will include several areas covering all stages of the electric car industry.
Last August, SEER celebrated the lifting of the first steel structure in the SEER Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Complex, four months after the start of construction work on the complex, announcing the acceleration of the steps to build the first Saudi complex of its kind for manufacturing electric vehicles in King Abdullah Economic City in Jeddah. The cost of building the aforementioned complex is $1.3 billion.
The company aims to design, manufacture and sell a range of vehicles, including sedans and SUVs, to consumers in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, and aims to launch its vehicles in the market in 2025.
5- Lucid Motors
American company Lucid Motors has signed agreements with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and Emaar, The Economic City to establish its first international factory in King Abdullah Economic City, which aims to produce 155,000 vehicles annually.
These agreements are expected to provide Lucid with funding and incentives totaling $3.4 billion over the next 15 years to build and operate an advanced electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the Kingdom.
The new factory in Saudi Arabia is expected to meet the growing global demand for Lucid electric vehicles by increasing the company’s global production capacity to 500,000 vehicles annually by the middle of the current decade, and the Saudi government has confirmed its commitment to purchase up to 100,000 electric vehicles from Lucid over a period of 10 years.
6- M Glory Holding
MGlory Holding, the UAE-based industrial, real estate and sustainable investment group based in Dubai, has announced the launch of the Al Damani Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Plant project in Dubai Industrial City in 2022.
The factory includes a temporary assembly line with a maximum production capacity of 10,000 cars per year, and the factory area is 45,000 square feet. The permanent factory is located on an area of more than one million square feet in Dubai Industrial City, with an investment cost of 1.5 billion dirhams ($408 million). Production will begin in 2024, with a production capacity ranging between 55,000 cars per year, to meet the growing demand for green transportation.
It is noteworthy that M Glory Company was founded by Dr. Majida Al-Azzazi, and its subsidiaries include Sandstorm Company for manufacturing electric vehicles, in addition to Al-Damani Company.
7- Newton Motors (NWTN)
NWTN, the smart electric vehicle company, known as NWTN Motors, specializes in the design and production of high-performance electric sports cars, combining advanced technology, stylish design and high performance.
Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), part of Abu Dhabi Ports Authority, has signed an agreement with NWTN to set up an electric vehicle assembly plant in the emirate in 2022. The new plant will have a production capacity of between 5,000 and 10,000 electric vehicles per year.
The facility aims to increase its car production at a later stage to 50,000 cars annually, according to Forbes Middle East.
This is the first-of-its-kind facility for electric vehicle assembly in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the announcement comes in the wake of recent updates issued by the Department of Energy – Abu Dhabi, which aim to accelerate the development of electric vehicle infrastructure as part of Abu Dhabi’s low-emission vehicle strategy.
Founded in 2016, NWTN is a UAE-based green mobility technology company that aims to provide smart passenger transport vehicles that use AI technologies and offer personalized experiences to its users.
In October of last year, the company announced the production of its first car, called “Rabdan One,” bearing the “Made in the UAE” label.
