Industry Developments

The Dubai Municipality has started the first phase of the conversion of its vehicle fleet to run on natural gas, becoming the first government department in Dubai to use compressed... 2011-02-23

BMI's view that volume brands will gain popularity in Gulf Co-operation Council markets has been supported by results from Al-Futtaim Motors, the exclusive distributor for Toyota Motor... 2011-02-22

Optimal Energy, the producer of South Africa's domestically developed electric vehicle (EV), the Joule, has approached companies in Asia to help with the project's funding. Although... 2011-02-21

Japan's Isuzu Motors will invest SAR500mn (US$133mn) in a new plant in Saudi Arabia. The facility will produce light and medium-duty trucks for the local and regional truck markets.... 2011-02-17

Better Place, which specialises in providing infrastructure and support for electric vehicle (EV) use, is preparing to have Israel's first electric cars on the road by the end of 2011.... 2011-02-15

Iranian carmaker Iran Khodro (IKCO) is continuing with plans to move production away from the capital, with news that its 10th plant will be in Semnan province. The company has a long-term... 2011-02-14

Provisional figures (excluding sales figures from the local BMW and Mercedes-Benz dealerships) released by the Association des Concessionaires Automobiles d'Algerie (ACAA) show that... 2011-02-03

IKCO has announced details of the production plans for its second 'national car', the Runna. BMI believes this falls into the company's wider strategy of greater self-sufficiency, which... 2011-02-03

US electric bus manufacturer DesignLine Corp plans to build a production plant in the UAE, as it sees opportunities in the public transport and hospitality industries. BMI believes... 2011-02-02

Carmakers exporting to Tunisia are taking a wait-and-see approach following the deposition of Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali as president.