DUBAI Civic Fleet to go 10% Electric
Thousands of cars to be ordered in the next few years by Dubai government bodies will be electric as part of a new target to make 10 per cent of civic fleets electric vehicles by 2020.
Reporting to the Supreme Energy Council, an Executive Electric Car Committee and a Technical Electric Car Committee are charged with achieving the benchmark in order to slash carbon emissions in Dubai within the next four years.
Dubai has already flipped the switch on 100 electric-car charging stations with more promised in the months ahead and some government bodies such as Dewa having already purchased a number of electric cars for everyday use by staff.
Dubai energy officials, meanwhile, have worked with electric-car companies such as Tesla to ensure that the UAE is on the approved pre-order list for the Model 3.
Listed as the only Middle East country able to order the vehicle from Tesla’s online reservation page, customers can order the basic vehicle for $35,000 and have it shipped directly to the UAE.
The new committees are working on new ideas to create government incentives to encourage people to buy electric cars instead of traditional petrol-powered vehicles.
Other efforts under way involve innovative new technologies that will make electric cars more practical for every day drivability by owners with busy itineraries.
Current electric chargers, for example, can take up to 15 minutes at existing charging stations and much longer for lower-output home chargers that plug into the vehicle from the home’s electric system.
But one new technology could mean charging a vehicle in only minutes without the need to plug in cumbersome cords or wires.
