DOHA, January 21 (Xinhua) — A study on the electric vehicle sector in Qatar showed that the country’s strategic location and vast resources can support its ambitions to become an important center for the electric vehicle industry in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The study, which was conducted by the Investment Promotion Agency in Qatar and was published by local media today (Saturday), said that pioneers in the electric vehicle industry, such as the Chinese company (Yutong), the German (Volkswagen) and the French (Goossen), have established promising partnerships with Governmental institutions in order to bring about change and achieve a quantum leap in the transportation market in Qatar and the region.
She stated that similarly, Accord Beach Doha, the leading global transportation company and partner of the Investment Promotion Agency, was able to make its mark in the local electric vehicle market by supplying the car market in Qatar with the Mercedes EQV. )) and ((Mercedes S)) with electric power.
She indicated that the company also planned to invest $10 million this year to expand its fleet of electric vehicles.
The study enumerated the pillars supporting the growth of the electric vehicle sector in Qatar, including broad government support, ambitious goals, financing research and development, and establishing the necessary infrastructure for investors in this sector.
She also reported that leading national institutions such as Qatar Foundation, Hamad International Airport and Lusail City are investing in electric vehicles, as well as private sector investment in electric vehicles.
She pointed out that huge investments have been made in the areas of innovation and infrastructure, in addition to providing incentives that enhance the electric vehicle industry to make the cost more competitive.
And she warned that electric vehicles are beginning to make their way steadily in the Middle East region, where it is expected that their sales will reach about $ 18.5 billion in 2023, with reaching the stage of mass adoption for widespread use during the next two years.
As electric vehicle sales are growing rapidly and achieving records globally, their numbers are expected to increase from 3.3 million cars in 2020 to about 27.5 million cars in 2027, with China, the United States and Germany leading this market, according to the study.
Qatar is keen to implement the strategy of transitioning to clean energy in the transportation sector, reduce carbon emissions from conventional vehicles, and improve the quality of the general climate in the country, in order to meet the requirements of the “Qatar National Vision 2030” for the complete transformation of the fleet of environmentally friendly electric vehicles.
One of the most important objectives of this strategy was to support transport operations during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to support the host country’s approach to hosting an environmentally friendly and “carbon neutral” World Cup by using environmentally friendly electric vehicles, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
This was achieved in cooperation with China, when Mowasalat, the transportation solutions provider in the State of Qatar, signed two contracts in 2020 to purchase buses for the World Cup service, the first with the Chinese company (Yutong) to purchase 741 electric buses and 261 environmentally friendly diesel buses, and the second with Chinese Higer Company to purchase 1,815 environmentally friendly diesel buses, making more than 25 percent of the new buses electric.
According to the plan, 65 percent of buses in Qatar will be electric this year, while the percentage will rise to 86 percent by 2028, and reach 100 percent by 2030.
The strategic and deep Chinese-Qatari partnership resulted in the agreement between Mowasalat and Yutong in 2020 to establish a factory for assembling electric buses in the free zone in Qatar, with a total annual production of between 500 and 1,000 electric buses.
According to previous statements by the CEO of Mowasalat Company, Fahd Al-Qahtani, to Xinhua, the production of this factory, which entered into force and is the first of its kind in the Middle East, will meet the needs of the local market while exporting to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa and the European market. Due to the fact that manufacturing specifications are global.