Saudi Arabia has been working on its own Ceer electric vehicles and is aiming to have 50,000 domestic EV charging stations in place by 2025. Furthermore, GM is projected to launch the Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV and Chevrolet Bolt EUV in the Middle East this year, while Ford has plans to present its EVs in the region two years from now. In addition, The Saudi Ministry of Investment just made a $5.6 billion agreement with Chinese electric car innovator Human Horizons, and the UAE holds a 7% ownership of Nio, a Shanghai-based electric vehicle company.
BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, recently appointed the CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, to its board of directors. This decision by CEO Larry Fink came although BlackRock is a notable leader in investing in a low-carbon future, with Fink citing Amin Nasser's "understanding of the global energy industry and the drivers of the shift towards a low carbon economy."
Middle Eastern countries are beginning to look to a more sustainable future – one potentially dominated by electric vehicles. Saudi Arabia owns a majority stake in the electric vehicle brand Lucid Motors and has been developing its own EV, Ceer. Meanwhile, electric vehicle deliveries in Israel rose over 210% in the first half of this year. In Bahrain, an American manufacturing corporation partnered with the Marson Group to open an electric vehicle manufacturing plant. To further encourage the transformation towards electric transport, Einride – a Swedish autonomous electric trucking company – partnered with the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to establish sustainable shipping within the region. This project, called the Falcon Rise project, has a goal of creating a freight mobility grid of 2,000 electric trucks, 200 autonomous trucks and eight charging stations.
BlackRock's significant role in the market for investing in a low-carbon future alongside its choice to place Saudi Aramco's CEO on its board of directors suggests that the Middle East is taking measures to invest in a more sustainable future. This is seen in the initiatives of Saudi Arabia, Israel and Bahrain, along with the collaboration between the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and Einride. It's clear that the region is ready to make the switch to electrification in a smart and cost-effective way.
Klein expressed her optimism for the strategic concept, although she acknowledged it was still just an idea. "I think Einride has an interesting portfolio for electrification and autonomy," she stated. The geographical makeup of a country can often create complications when aiming to electrify its transportation systems. For example, in the US, cross-country journeys necessitate navigating a massive area. Fortunately, the UAE is a "contained country," which makes electrifying the entire nation much simpler.In addition to the UAE, Saudi Arabia is also investing in infrastructure designed to encourage EV adoption; its goal of instituting 50,000 domestic charging stations by 2025 is a part of the Saudi Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Development Initiative (SEVCIDI). Meanwhile, auto giants from both the US and China are vying to gain a share in the Middle Eastern EV market. GM has plans to launch several EVs, such as the Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV, while Ford intends to begin EV production in the area by 2024. Chinese EV manufacturing is also spreading throughout the region, and the UAE has invested over $700 million in Nio, an EV chain based in Shanghai.Oil is still a major global resource, and OPEC predicts the demand for it will reach 110 million barrels per day in approximately two decades. To this end, both the E.U. and the US have imposed sanctions, yet the global supply of oil has remained unaffected, as the price of oil remains around $70 per barrel.The transition to EVs is underway, but the sheer amount of money and time it demands is daunting. Chevron's CEO, Mike Wirth, is sure GM will be able to discontinue the manufacture of internal combustion engines by 2035, but the challenges of constructing new supply lines for batteries and upstream minerals and metals is no small task.Nevertheless, the UAE and Einride's enterprise, along with the EV sector's recent surge of popularity, could serve as a possible example for other countries in the Middle East to follow as they strive for a more energy-efficient future and combat climate change.
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