Compared to other global cities, Dubai has one of the highest concentrations of automobiles on the planet. In fact, there’s one car for every two people in the city. In some ways, this is a very positive thing: it signifies how affluent Dubai has become in recent years. However, it could also become a problem in the future. With so many vehicles on its roads, Dubai’s air quality may start to deteriorate. This is already a problem for other cities with high levels of automotive activity, such as Shanghai and London. In order to stop this issue before it becomes a serious problem, Dubai’s authorities want to start replacing polluting fuel-based cars with clean, eco-friendly electric cars and hybrid vehicles. But what measures are they taking to accomplish this? Two key measures are currently being undertaken:

1. Introducing additional hybrid vehicles into the RTA’s taxi fleet

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority is responsible for operating a fleet of taxis for the benefit of the city’s residents. The RTA’s taxis make up a significant percentage of the traffic on Dubai’s roads. In order to reduce their overall environmental impact, the RTA is currently introducing more electric and hybrid vehicles into its fleet. By the end of the year, the RTA will have increased the number of hybrid vehicles in its fleet by 17%, thereby reducing the amount of pollution that the fleet produces overall.

2. Incentivising residents to invest in electric cars

Dubai’s authorities plan to reward residents who choose to invest in electric vehicles with a broad range of benefits. Most notably, motorists with electric cars will be able to recharge them for free until 2019 and take advantage of free parking. In short, having an electric vehicle could help drivers in Dubai save a substantial amount of money.

If you are interested in switching to an electric vehicle and helping preserve Dubai’s air quality, get in touch with us today. We’re happy to buy your current car so you can raise money for a new electric one. We buy any car, regardless of make or design and we always aim to give you a fair price.

It seems that the Dubai police force are becoming a regular feature when it comes to car news. Back in August, we told you about the police’s all new BMW i3 Electric super car, and now there’s a new car on the scene. Sticking with electric vehicles, the force have announced a brand new fleet that have been designed with airport security in mind. Due to the fact that the cars are so quiet, you may not notice them whilst you’re making your way through Dubai airport, but the all new patrol cars are highly capable and come with environmentally-friendly credentials.

Fully electric and made by Peugeot, the Dubai police have purchased them in order to help officers secure Dubai’s international airport. The plug-in cars are the latest addition to an increasingly impressive fleet of cars the Dubai police force has at their disposal. Not only do they have several Nissan Patrol four wheel drive vehicles, but there’s also a few supercars thrown into the mix, including an Aston Martin One-77, as well as a Bugatti Veyron and the highly impressive McLaren MP4-12C.

The police announced the acquisition of the cars in a tweet this week, although no information is available just yet on exactly how many of the electric cars you’re likely to see at the airport.

The news follows on from the announcement of 50 Tesla electric vehicles forming part of the limo fleet at the airport. Whilst the police aren’t going to be driving Teslas anytime soon, the Peugeot iOns do provide plenty of performance for a small electric car.

Powered entirely by a 47kW electric motor, which in turn is fed by a 16kW/hr lithium-ion battery pack, the cars are capable of both fast and smooth acceleration, something which will no doubt be absolutely essential for the police force. The fast acceleration is made possible by the impressive 140lb-ft of torque.

So far, the iOn’s exposure to the public has been fairly limited, but they have attracted several good reviews from a variety of car magazines and websites. The ease of driving an iOn has been picked out in particular, with most putting the pleasant and straightforward driving experience down to the fact that the Peugeot iOn has no need for a gearbox.

So, next time you’re at the airport, keep an eye out for the Peugeot iOns – they could be signalling the start of a shift towards electric cars.

A new study of driving incidents suggests that the higher the value of your car, the less likely you are to be involved in an accident on the road in the United Arab Emirates.

Using data from insurance claims, the research formulated a correlation between the value of vehicles and the likelihood of being involved in an accident. It would appear that drivers with low-value vehicles are most accident prone, while UAE drivers of cars with the highest worth tend to avoid collisions and mishaps far more successfully. In fact, if you own a vehicle valued between Dh400,000 and Dh500,000, you could well be amongst the safest drivers on UAE roads, as those make up 6.5% of people involved in road traffic accidents.

Around 11% of car drivers who made a claim over the past year were those who owned vehicles with a value of Dh50,000 to Dh100,000. Perhaps inevitably, the research also found that younger drivers tend to have more accidents than more mature car owners in UAE. Those in the age group of 25 to 29 were the most common applicants for settlement of UAE car insurance claims. The same research looked at the nationalities of car owners who had least accidents and found that French, British and Australian drivers are amongst the safest on UAE roads.

Efforts to improve road safety for car owners have recently given drivers something to smile about, though. The Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road – also known as E 311 – is a major arterial road and therefore prone to problems. However, three giant smiley face signs recently appeared there. This is a new project from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development, part of its campaign to “spread happiness among road users”. The smile signs also feature an appeal to drivers – in Arabic, English and Urdu – to “drive safe” and show consideration to other road users.

Of course, much of your ability to navigate UAE roads without accidents or breakdowns depends on buying the safest and most reliable models and having a well-maintained car. This also means only buying second-hand cars from reputable dealers.

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