Tesla, the world-leading manufacturer of electric cars, and the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), an agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai, will cooperate to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the UAE and the region.
The region’s first-ever Tesla showroom and service centre will be open on Sheikh Zayed Road during the third quarter of 2017, it was announced while Elon Musk, Co-founder and Chief Executive of Tesla visited Dubai recently. It has also been agreed that the first charging station for Tesla vehicles will be installed at the DED head office in Dubai.
“The co-operation between Dubai FDI and Tesla marks a significant step in facilitating access to critical markets for companies and to cleaner technologies for communities across the Middle East and neighbouring regions,” commented His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED.
Al Qamzi added that Tesla moving to Dubai is a fillip to green initiatives regionwide as well as to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a smart city and pivotal hub of the global economy.
Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, said Dubai would serve as a springboard for promoting the Tesla range of innovations across new and emerging markets while it also marks a strong endorsement of the emirate’s reputation as a promising hub for multinationals.
“Dubai FDI is successfully engaging with game-changing companies and investors worldwide, enabling them to use Dubai as a vantage point for market access and business development. Clean energy innovations are well-aligned with the creativity, happiness and sustainability that are integral to the Dubai Plan 2021. Dubai FDI will continue to assist Tesla to expand and grow in the region and its neighbourhood,” added Al Gergawi.
Founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than gasoline-powered cars, Tesla was ranked as the world’s second best-selling manufacturer of plug-in electric vehicles in 2016, having sold 186,000 units worldwide since its first ‘Tesla Roadster’ hit the road in 2008. The Tesla range also includes Model S, the world’s first premium electric Sedan, Model X, a crossover SUV, and Model 3, said to be Tesla’s cheapest model yet, due to hit the roads in 2017.
