Nissan to Lead the Charge in Middle East Electrification with 13 New Models by 2030
At the 19th ICIS Middle East Base Oils and Lubricants conference in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Adib Takieddine, Managing Director, Nissan Motor Corporation KSA took to the stage to discuss the automotive sector from an OEM’s perspective.
“From a global viewpoint, similar to many other industries, we came out of Covid after a huge disruption to our industry. We had issues with our supply chain and, therefore, a big backlog, so we’ve gone through quite a lot in the last four years.”
He spoke about the significant global transformation towards electric cars. “Obviously, globally, we are committed to electrification. In the Middle East, we are on the cusp of change. We understand that adoption is going to be slower here than in other markets. Europe is nearly 80-90%, whereas we are a lot less. However, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are spearheading the change in the region, providing charging stations, incentives, and setting emissions standards.
Consumers in the region today are still, either from a practical or anxiety perspective, more skewed towards internal combustion engines. “We don’t believe it will be a dramatic change,” Adib Takieddine said, “more of a slow transition into electrification.”
He also announced that Nissan will launch roughly 30 vehicles in the next 20 years. Thirteen of these will be in the Middle East, with over half being electric. “We are bringing new technology to the market,” he said, “but people will still go with their internal combustion engines as that is what they are comfortable with. So we need to focus on more efficient engines.”
When looking at what is currently driving the future of the automative industry, Adib Takieddine said there were three main areas – mobility, connectivity and sustainability.
“From a mobility standpoint, we are talking about driverless cars. You will have a car that will take you door to door by 2027. For connectivity, we live in a world where people stare at their phones and need to be connected at all times. We need this in cars, whether it is Apple iPlay or an equivalent. Your car will be as much a part of you as your handheld device.
“For sustainability, we want to be environmentally friendly. This isn’t just about car emissions but about the supply chain. We want to grow and share our volume but in a sustainable way.”
Takieddine also gave a small preview into what the Middle East can expect from Nissan in the near future. “I don’t want to give too much away, but we will be launching a lot more SUVs, and there will be more technology in them. We are excited to give people the opportunity to see what we have to offer.”
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