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Meet the Emirati businesswoman behind first UAE-made electric car

The vehicle can touch a top speed of 160km and cover more than 405km after a single charge

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The countdown for the first ‘Made in UAE’ electric car has begun. And Dr Majida Alazazi, chairwoman of M Glory Holding Group, is super excited for the big day.

“The electric car is called Al Damani DMV300, and we expect the first batch of cars to roll out by the end of June,” she told Khaleej Times during the Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit

“We have established a temporary factory at Dubai Industrial City (DIC). The arrangements began in October last year and we will start production in a few days,” she added

In March this year, Dr Majida along with other top officials laid the foundation stone for the country’s first ever electric vehicle manufacturing facility in DIC. The factory will be finished by 2024. Meanwhile, DMV300 will be made at a temporary factory not far away from the main one getting constructed in DIC.

“My team and I were behind this. I was very selective about my team. I got the best and most talented people from top companies such as Aston Martin, General Motors and others.”

Dr Majida is the first Emirati woman with a practical doctorate in business administration in supply chain management and manufacturing from UAE University. Following her passion to be a pioneer in the industrial sector, she opened an automotive factory: Sandstorm Motor Vehicles Manufacturing.

“Since 2012, I started to develop Sandstorm. It is now a successful factory. We are now going electric with M Glory. We are now planning to do more sustainable projects under M Glory Holding Group.”

The electric car can touch a top speed of 160kms and cover more than 405kms on a single charge.

“When you charge at home, it will get fully charged in 6 to 8 hours. But we have fast charge, which will charge the car up to 85 per cent in 30 minutes. We are working to develop our own charger that can charge within 4 hours at home,” the industrial engineer said.

“About 25 per cent of the car’s parts are from the local market. Soon we will be able to gradually increase this percentage.”

The businesswoman noted that thousands of orders have already been received for electric cars.

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“Our capacity per day is 8 to 10 cars and 10,000 cars a year from the temporary factory. Once the main factory gets ready, it will be capable of producing 50,000 to 70,000 cars per year.”

Dr Majida heads various companies and has held positions in government and semi-government companies too.

“We are working in line with the vision of the UAE government’s Net Zero goals,” she added.

• Abu Dhabi