Despite Middle East consumers continuing to favor internal combustion engines (ICE) when buying new passenger vehicles, a new survey conducted by Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) has found that battery-electric vehicle (BEV) ownership is set to accelerate in this key Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) city. BI’s inaugural auto-buying intentions survey, which canvassed consumers in Dubai ahead of COP28, saw a growing appetite for BEV’s with consumers, more so than European buyers.
According to the results, of those respondents intending to buy a brand-new car in the next 12 months, 19% will opt for a BEV accelerating from a base market share of 2%. This compares to 16% of consumers in Europe, from a 15% base indicating slower growth. Tesla topped the most wanted brand list (21%), followed by Mercedes (15%) and BMW (12%). In Europe, these brands were equally favored.
Reinforced policymaking, that would help drive transition targets amid COP28 could further boost BEVs’ market share, presenting opportunities for specifically designed GCC brands, such as Ceer, to establish themselves. Ceer targets a 150,000-unit production capacity in Saudi Arabia as part of Vision 2030. Qatar’s state transport company, Ecotranzit, has also launched a BEV brand (VIM).
