ABU DHABI // GCC customers will be among the last to benefit from a global roll-out of electric cars due to the minimal interest shown by the region in using alternative energy vehicles, a car company chief said yesterday.
Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan and Renault, was in Abu Dhabi yesterday for the global launch of the 2010 Nissan Patrol 4x4 vehicle. And while he said the Middle East was shaping up to be "the main market" for the Patrol, the reverse is true of Nissan's forthcoming electric Leaf car.
"The Middle East is not a prime target for electric vehicles," Mr Ghosn said at a press conference, citing a lack of government interest in the region for zero-emission cars.
"We give priority to governments who are ready to provide incentives for electric cars, like infrastructure," he said.
The debut of the new Nissan Patrol, a petrol-engined 5.6-litre V8 luxury SUV with an estimated highway fuel economy of 18 litres per 100km, is the prime focus of Nissan in the Middle East, rather than an early launch of the Leaf.
At present, fully electric vehicles are not available in UAE automotive dealerships, although Lexus and Mercedes-Benz are selling luxury hybrids which combine petrol engines with electric motors to lower emissions and fuel consumption.
Mr Ghosn said that the US, Japan, Europe and the UK will be among the first to take delivery of the Nissan Leaf, with the roll-out starting later this year and continuing throughout 2011.
"Not a lot of governments in the Middle East came to us and said they were interested," said Mr Ghosn.
The Leaf's first production run will be 500,000 vehicles, less than one per cent of the company's global market, Mr Ghosn said. Given the relatively small numbers being distributed worldwide, he said Nissan will be targeting markets that are committed to installing charging stations and providing financial incentives for motorists to switch to zero-emission cars.
"The US, Japan, France and the UK are the major countries who have signed up, and we have cities signing up as well when not necessarily the whole country has signed up, like Mexico City," said Mr Ghosn.
"We will focus on countries that are not producers of oil and are concerned with their CO2 emissions."
At the World Future Energy Summit held last month in Abu Dhabi, delegates detailed plans in other countries to make the purchase of electric vehicles easier.
Sean Long, an automotive specialist for One North East, a regional development organisation in north-east England, said options include allowing the leasing of batteries, an expensive component of electric cars, and offering cheaper electricity rates to owners of electric cars.
In the UK, cash payments of up to £5,000 (Dh29,000) are designed to offset the high prices of electric vehicles.
In France, Renault has formed a partnership with EDF, a utilities company, to build a nationwide network of charging stations, with ?400 million (Dh2 billion) contributed by the French government for the project.
The car-rental company Hertz, meanwhile, will add the Leaf to its fleets in the US and Europe by early 2011.
Although the infrastructure for fully electric cars is lacking in the UAE, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority reportedly plans to set up charging points for electric-powered cars and has singled out the Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car, as a vehicle it will help market.
At Masdar's carbon-neutral city, 10 electric pod cars are expected to be moving passengers from the city's car park while another three will move freight.
Some capital commuters may need time to adjust to the idea of electric cars.
Hassan Ahmad, a 35-year-old electrical engineer from the Palestinian territories, owns a Mitsubishi Pajero and said: "With such modern cars, I don't think I'll exchange my new fast car with an electric one for the environment's sake. Who's concerned about the environment here? People want new, nice and fast cars. They don't care whether it's environmental friendly or not."
However, Essa al Mazroui, a 54-year-old Emirati businessman, would consider exchanging his Nissan four-wheel drive for a more environmentally friendly alternative. "Yes, I sure would buy one," he said. Even if they were slower and more expensive, I would sacrifice that for a cleaner and healthier world."
glewis@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Lynne al Nahhas
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Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
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- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The%20Specs%20
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