The Middle East and Africa are witnessing imports of electric cars despite the modest infrastructure for this type, such as the needs of charging stations, battery stores and specialized garages for repairs.
Today, there are several types of electric cars available in these countries especially in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, South Africa, Egypt, and the rest of the countries in the region.
According to some data, the size of the electric car market in the Middle East and Africa is expected to grow from $2.70 billion in 2023 to $7.65 billion by 2028. Bloomberg report states that by 2040, 58% of global passenger car sales will be electric cars while today there are more than 5.6 million electric cars around the world.
The electric car market was affected during the Covid-19 pandemic and led to a decline in sales in 2020, including the closure of some manufacturing units. However, last year witnessed growth in the electric car industry, and this growth is expected to continue in the coming years. Given the interest and increasing awareness about energy storage solutions in the renewable energy sector, this leads to increased market movement towards importing them.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE were among the first countries to adopt electric cars in the Middle East, while the standards bodies in those countries are planning to issue regulations and legislation for their use and develop their charging stations. Although oil and gas sources constitute major sources of national revenues in a number of countries in the region and the Middle East, the relevant governments are working to establish renewable energy projects and clean transportation technologies. The increasing government initiatives to build charging infrastructure throughout the region are working to promote and increase sales of electric cars, as there are billions being pumped into these projects in terms of providing the infrastructure, how to manage their equipment and energy supplies to the charging facilities, and the pricing mechanism for customers.
The introduction of electric cars in the world has shaken the entire automobile industry, and created a great competition between competing industrialists’ countries, while everyone is working to accelerate the process of allocating resources to create fully electric models in their countries. This is part of the plans set by these countries for the transportation sector during the next decade. It has led some African countries to work on establishing new facilities to develop products, which increases their presence in the market. It is expected that the momentum for reliance on electric cars will escalate after the European Union proposed in mid-July to phase out sales of diesel and gasoline-powered cars in a major shift in the market by 2035.
The United Nations Environment Program also helps African countries develop the right policies for the transition from fossil fuels to electric mobility, while some countries have allocated part of the funding of the Global Environment Facilities to electric mobility, and adopted policies and standards for electric vehicles in favor of absorbing them instead of cars that powered by fossil energy.
The adoption of electric cars is expected to enter the fast track in the Gulf region, especially in urban centers with high technological expertise, such as providing free charging stations. Loans from banks will be worked to protect the environment, while the region is expected to witness the establishment of pilot projects for electric cars as well.
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