According to the official microblogging news of Roc Motors, on February 22, 2024, Roc Motors announced that it has established a strategic partnership with Ali&Sons, a dealer group in the United Arab Emirates. With the accelerated layout of Roc Motors' Going Overseas 2.0 strategy, more and more overseas high-quality dealers have chosen to join the ranks of Roc Motors' partners, and together they are committed to bringing smart electric vehicles equipped with the latest technology to local consumers. Up to now, in the Middle East and Africa market, Xiaopeng Motors has reached a strategic partnership with Ali&Sons, a dealer group in the United Arab Emirates, RAYA Group in Egypt, SR Group in Azerbaijan, T Gargour&Fils Group in Jordan, and Gargour Asia SAL Group in Lebanon, and a number of Xiaopeng Motors' models will be listed and delivered in the five countries in the Middle East and Africa starting from the second quarter.
The cooperation with the MEA market marks another important "first step" in the globalization of Xiaopeng Automobile. The UAE, Azerbaijan and Egypt are the first new markets for Xiaopeng to enter the Gulf, Central Asia and Africa respectively. Meanwhile, other European markets including Germany, the UK, Italy and France will be expanded this year. 2024 will see an increase in sales and market share by focusing on Europe and potentially the Middle East and Africa, with more suitable models available for delivery.
The UAE's interest in electric vehicles is growing rapidly at 30% per year, reflected in a number of innovative initiatives and policy pushes.In 2022, Red Flag New Energy Vehicles joined Dubai's police fleet as the first brand of its kind, and Remote Vehicles signed a major order for 1,000 new-energy commercial vehicles with UAE companies. By March 2023, the UAE had already converted nearly one-fifth of government agency vehicles to EVs, and has set an ambitious target, with plans for EVs to make up half of all vehicles by 2050. To facilitate this shift, the UAE has also introduced special credit cards that automatically deduct charging fees.
Other countries in the Middle East are also accelerating their energy transition and actively participating in the development of the new energy vehicle industry. According to market research, the electric vehicle market in the Middle East and Africa is growing rapidly and the market size is expected to expand significantly by 2027. This trend signals that the Middle East is undergoing a profound energy revolution, and the rise of the new energy vehicle industry will be a key part of this transformation.
The Saudi Sovereign Fund (PIF) has been making strategic investments in the EV sector since 2018, including an investment in Lucid, a US-based EV maker dubbed the "Tesla killer", and a plan to launch Saudi Arabia's first EV brand, Ceer, in partnership with Foxconn and BMW. These moves not only show Saudi Arabia's ambition in the EV industry, but also its foresight in securing the supply of key battery raw materials, including investments in overseas mining and plans to build a lithium hydroxide plant in Saudi Arabia.