Middle East

Autonomous robotaxi startup Pony.ai continues to expand the reach of its autonomous operations – this time venturing outside of China into the NEOM development of northwest Saudi Arabia. The company announced a new joint venture with NEOM today that includes an $100 million investment to establish a local presence and implement robotaxi rides across the Middle East.

Less than three months after announcing entry into a new market of Israel, Chinese EV automaker ZEEKR is continuing its expansion in the Middle East (and around the globe for that matter) and doing so quickly. The young automaker has announced four new partnerships that will see EV deliveries coming quite quickly.

Chinese EV automaker NIO has confirmed that a holding firm backed by the Abu Dhabi government is investing close to $740 million dollars in exchange for new Class A shares in the company. As a new minority shareholder, NIO intends to jointly pursue new global business opportunities and accelerate growth in new markets outside of China.

Gogoro, widely considered to be the global leader in battery swapping for light electric vehicles, announced today that it is officially launching operations in Israel. The move marks a major westward expansion by the electric scooter and battery swapping company, which has until now largely focused on dominating the Eastern markets.

Jordan, a small Middle Eastern country of about 8 million people, is popular in the media these days for its role in the Syrian refugee crisis. The country is providing asylum to about 1 million refugees according to the UN Refugee Agency. Some, including Britain’s Prince Charles, see climate change as the root cause of the civil war in Syria, which sparked the refugee crisis.

An extreme drought believed to have been caused by climate change forced as many as 1.5 million people between 2006 and 2009 to migrate away from lands and into the cities. The sudden urbanization caused social stresses which eventually led to the March 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Arguably, Jordan is doing more than its part by offering asylum to so many refugees, but the country is also addressing the root cause by accelerating its plans to curb emissions. The government recently announced a tax and custom duties exemption for electric vehicles and charging equipment. Tesla is one of the first company to take advantage of the new policy.
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