A new EV assembly line coming to UAE: Canadian EV company AXL — which unveiled its all-electric SUV Sharx-5 last month — has plans to establish a UAE-based assembly line with a 50k production capacity either in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, CEO of AXL Electric Vehicles Ali Eslami told Khaleej Times.

Strategic location: The company — which currently has one model priced at some USD 40k, according to the news outlet — is looking to leverage the emirates’ proximity to both the EU and Asian markets to set up its MENA-based assembly unit, Eslami said. The company is currently in talks for land allocation and could start production of its EVs within six to nine months depending on the “availability of the building and infrastructure,” he added..

Not the first company with assembly plans in MENA: UAE-based car manufacturer M Glory Holding plans to establish three electric vehicle production factories across MENA in Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan with an investment ticket of USD 550 mn. Renault and Stellantis already operate EV assembly facilities in Morocco producing 700k cars each year. Citroen also produces around 50k EV buses per year with plans to double that output in two years.