China’s EV Makers Want Top Oil Producing Nations to Go Electric
- Middle East seen as promising market amid US, Europe barriers
- Brand recognition, lack of charging main obstacles to growth
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Chinese electric-vehicle makers are facing one of their biggest challenges yet: convincing drivers in the oil-rich Middle East to switch to battery-powered cars.
With EV demand slowing at home, and companies facing substantial import tariffs in the US as well as a European Union probe into Chinese subsidies, automakers view the region as a major growth opportunity that, so far, is largely untapped. Across the six Gulf states, including oil majors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, electric cars account for just 0.4% of the passenger-vehicle market.