Abu Dhabi will build an electric vehicle assembly facility that will manufacture thousands of cars a year from its industrial zone and has brought in smart electric firm NWTN as it looks to become an auto hub.
Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) said it will construct a 25,000 square meter facility, which will be operated by NWTN for the manufacturing, research and development, and vehicle testing of electric vehicles.
“Attracting electric vehicle manufacturers to Abu Dhabi will play a significant role in enabling the economic vision of Abu Dhabi,” Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, managing director and group chief executive at AD Ports Group which owns KIZAD, said in a statement.
Under the agreement, NWTN’s operations initially will have an annual capacity of 5,000 to 10,0000 units of semi-knocked down electric vehicles, a process where the manufacturer partially strips down a vehicle at the origin and reassembles it in another country.
In phase two, the company plans to introduce several new electric vehicle models and expand capacity to 50,000 units annually. NWTN said it “will benefit from proximity to AD Ports Group’s expansive automobile business ecosystem, which includes existing and upcoming projects tailored to the automotive sector.”
Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid is constructing a factory in Saudi Arabia which eventually aims to build up to 150,000 electric vehicles a year.
