Your browser is: WebKit 537.36. This browser is out of date so some features on this site might break. Try a different browser or update this browser. Learn more.
David Fickling, Columnist

An EV Revolution Is Happening in the Heart of OPEC

The Gulf states are looking beyond oil and the internal combustion engine.

A Tesla drives past skyscrapers in Dubai’s Marina district.

Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg

Think of the most important markets for electric vehicles, and you’ll have a list of the usual suspects: Norway, China, Germany, the UK. But Dubai?

It seems improbable, but OPEC’s second-biggest exporter deserves a place alongside those other markets. Fully-electric vehicles comprised 10% of the value of cars imported into the United Arab Emirates last year, according to trade data. Throw in hybrids and plug-in hybrids, and more than a quarter of the market is switching to batteries.