UAE’s NWTN plans to expand Abu Dhabi EV factory: Dubai-based green mobility company NWTN Motors has signed an MoU with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) to establish a new integrated electric vehicle production line in the UAE and expand its EV factory in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement.

And there’s more: Under the MoU, the DED will streamline and facilitate the necessary procedures for NWTN to obtain industrial licenses, the statement notes. Both parties will also work towards advancing Abu Dhabi’s automobile industry and transportation sector in line with the UAE’s Industrial Vision 2031. The MoU is valid until 2025, and could be renewed if both parties agree.

The new agreement builds upon plans NWTN revealed last year: NWTN Motors signed a lease agreement with industrial developer Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) for the EV assembly plant last September. In the initial phase, the facility’s annual capacity would stand at 5-10k vehicles of semi-knocked-down EVs. In its second phase, NWTN wants to introduce several new EV models and expand the 25k sqm facility’s capacity to 50k units per year.

SOUND SMART- Semi-knocked-down kit is a car-industry term for vehicles that arrive at a plant with the body already welded and coated or painted, along with nearly all the parts needed for assembly. It’s called “SKD” in car-speak. A completely knocked down (CKD) kit is a box that arrives needing lots of work on site to assemble it, usually including welding and painting the body and often needing more local components. A CBU, or completely built up, vehicle is one that arrives at its destination already assembled, tires and all.

And there’s export hopes: “The strategic location, with direct access to regional and global markets and proximity to world-class manufacturing infrastructure in Kizad, will allow NWTN to enhance its operations long-term and increase our export potential,” NWTN CEO Alan Wu said at the time.

NWTN aren’t the only ones: The first EV assembly facility in the UAE was inaugurated in Dubai back in October. The M Glory Holding Group-owned AED 1.5 bn Al Damani Auto EV plant can currently assemble 10k cars annually, but it plans to raise the production capacity to 55k cars per annum over the coming few years. The factory will likely produce two models of Al Damani DMV300, which has a battery capacity of 52.7 kWh and can cover more than 405 km on a single charge, aiming to export the EVs to the wider GCC region, Egypt, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali and Kenya.