Weekend special | NRIs in UAE switching to electric cars

 Retail fuel prices in the UAE hit an all-time record in July

Never in his three-decade expatriate life did Mohammed Ashraf imagine that petrol prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would surge to the levels as in India.

For years, fuel, in fact was cheaper than bottled water in oil- rich Gulf.

Now blame it on global uncertainty triggered by the Russian-Ukraine war or macroeconomic headwinds, retail petrol prices in the UAE have hit an all-time record touching Dh 4.66 (₹100) a litre in July. “And that is why I sold my Nissan Patrol car and went for a Tesla model, “Dr. Ashraf, a medical practitioner in Dubai, said.

Amid rising petrol prices, a significant number of Non-Resident Indians (NRI) in the UAE are either switching to electric or hybrid cars to cut costs. “The demand for electric vehicles has risen exponentially. At times, we have to wait for more than an hour at the electric vehicle charging stations,” Dr. Ashraf added.

However, not all are wealthy enough to buy new electric cars, especially the Tesla models. “The middle-class NRIs are constrained to use carpooling services or commute by public transport,“ M.R. Rajesh, a legal consultant in Abu Dhabi, said.

Entrepreneur Harrison Albert feels that electric vehicles would be the future of driving for various reasons including the rising fuel prices. “Unofficial reports have estimated that the cost of a litre of petrol may even reach Dh 7 by year-end. So, governments globally are encouraging the electric vehicle industry,” he said, adding that a UAE company opened a new electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Dubai Industrial City.