Qatar is set for its first electric vehicle manufacturing plant under a long-term partnership between Doha-based JTA International Investment Holding and Britain's Watt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC), with production of cars engineered specifically for the Gulf's extreme heat expected to begin in early 2028, according to media reports.
The factory will initially build a passenger car and a medium-sized delivery van, running at about 5,000 units a year before expanding considerably beyond that, Autocar, UK, reported. Output will serve the domestic market first, then exports across the Gulf Co-operation Council and selected international markets, it said.
The vehicles will be designed and engineered in the UK but manufactured entirely in Qatar under a "Made in Qatar" banner, the companies said in a joint announcement according to Futurride, a sustainable media brand focusing on sustainable mobility. The partnership was formalised at a ceremony in Doha by JTA founder and chief executive Amir Ali Salemi Zadeh and WEVC founder and chief executive Neil Yates, after months of planning in London and Doha.
Yates said his engineering teams were positioned to design vehicles "specifically for the Gulf's demanding environmental conditions", citing advanced thermal management and battery performance in extreme temperatures, as well as regional driving patterns and customer preferences, UAE's The National reported.
Salemi Zadeh said the cars would be engineered around "local operating conditions, the region's demanding climate" and the expectations of customers in Qatar and the wider GCC. He described the venture as the creation of a new industrial capability for Qatar rather than simply a vehicle assembly project, pointing to technology transfer, skilled employment and stronger local supply chains — all objectives under Qatar National Vision 2030, the country's blueprint for reducing its dependence on hydrocarbons.
The regional market is expanding quickly. Research firm Mordor Intelligence values the GCC electric car market at $11.64bn and projects it will reach $31.66bn by 2031, growth analysts attribute largely to national diversification programmes including Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE Net Zero 2050.
Both initial models will be built on WEVC's PACES aluminium skateboard chassis — a modular platform using patented extrusions and joining pieces that integrate the battery into the vehicle's primary structure, cutting weight, tooling costs and manufacturing complexity. The platform supports front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations across everything from small city cars to commercial vans, and won the Innovation Award at the 2026 Autocar Awards, judged in partnership with Siemens.
Yates told Autocar the Qatari deal would accelerate WEVC's own plan to establish manufacturing capability in the UK and would be the forerunner of similar satellite operations in the US and Asia. He said the company's low-capital approach to building cars was proving an effective way of "coping with geopolitical difficulties like the rise of tariff barriers".
WEVC, which operates from bases in Cornwall and Worcestershire and plans to open new premises in the Midlands, specialises in low- to medium-volume electric vehicles built under its own brand and for third-party clients. JTA, established in 2010 and headquartered in Doha, invests across energy, transport, infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, technology, healthcare and sport, with operations in more than 50 countries.
Detailed implementation planning will be completed before factory development and the joint vehicle programmes begin.