Saudi Arabia has a long and storied history of car ownership. In fact, it's the only country in the world where more people own cars than don't. And while this is great for those who live in Saudi Arabia, it also means that moving toward EV’s will not be a walk in the park!
Being the largest oil exporter in the world, it is also working to be one of the most progressive countries when it comes to energy and transportation. In fact, In recent years Saudi Arabia has been working hard to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and transition towards renewable energy sources.
One of their commitments is to put 700,000 electric vehicles on Riyadh's roads by 2030, not a small number but if it's to be achieved then this will require an estimated 30,000 – 34,000 new charging stations.
As a result of this commitment, Saudi Arabia has set up a national strategy for electric mobility as part of “ Vision 2030", which also aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions levels and increasing their share in total energy consumption through renewable sources from 4% today (including hydroelectric) to 50% by 2030.
And while these numbers seem daunting at first glance, they're actually relatively small compared to other countries plans for expanding green mobility (like China's goal of having 40% of its vehicles sold to be EV’s by 2030).
Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in alternative transportation, aiming to significantly decrease petroleum consumption and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This wouldn't be possible without the help of electric vehicles such as plug-in hybrids, which play a key role in Saudi Arabia's 2030 GHG reduction plan. In addition, Saudi Arabia has also formed an "Electric Vehicle Partnership" with France to promote electric vehicle sales and trade in the region.
So what does this mean? Well...it means we have some hope!. Saudi Arabia is showing that they may be serious about reaching their EV goals. The first indication of their commitment is the KSA's investment into LUCID Motors. This follows an announcement earlier this year that the kingdom would be investing $45 billion into a green energy sector. But even more significantly, it lends credence to the idea that the KSA isn't solely interested in clean tech to lower its dependency on oil in order to remain relevant and respected globally.
Having EV’s on the road is all nice and dandy but the most pressing issue facing Saudi Arabia is extreme temperatures--the country experiences some of the hottest days on earth--which can damage battery packs and result in reduced range for electric vehicles (EVs). It would require plenty of R&D before any EV’s can be launched into the market.
In the end, if Saudi Arabia wants to reach their target of 30% EV use by 2030, they need to do two things. First, they need to make sure that the country has enough EV charging stations throughout the highways as well as in the middle of cities. And second, they need to reduce the cost of EVs so that more Saudis are able to purchase them. If these goals are accomplished, then 30% of all cars on Saudi Arabia’s roads will be EVs by 2030.
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