Mays Motors with Noor Majan reveals the prototype of the Middle East’s first electric car. It will go into production in 2023. We first heard reports of an electric car in the making in 2010 and wasn’t sure if it was an April’s Fools joke or not. As April rolls around again, 12 years later, we are enjoying the news that Oman plans on producing its own electric car.
It will be called the Mays i E1 and some 500 of the Mad Max looking trucks have been pre-ordered, according to Haider bin Adnan al Zaabi, a co-founder of Mays Motors.
The company plants on expanding after an investment and will show of its new motor in Dubai at the STEP International Conference, one of the largest conferences related to tech companies and investments in the world.
Zaabi says that Mays Motors has started work in a small factory in Barka and they plan to sell globally. Parts, shipping, global rollout is a big deal.
Zaabi tells a local paper Muscat Daily he is also hopeful of spurring job opportunities as the company increases production. “We will create more job opportunities for Omanis. We are working with some private companies and Shell to set up recharge points in petrol stations across Oman to cater to demand.”
Mays i E1 has a carbon fibre body, a range of 500km on a single charge and can accelerate zero to 100km/hr in less than four seconds.