In the garage of an apartment building in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Firas Khamis inspects his apartment’s electricity bill, which increased within a month by about 10 dinars (14 dollars) as a result of buying an electric car after a long struggle with the high prices of gasoline.
Khamis, 42, who stands in the place designated for charging his vehicle to make sure it is fully charged before he goes to pick up his three children from school, says, "I used to allocate between 200 and 250 dinars a month for gasoline, but now, thank God, I only need 10 or 15." An extra dinars on the electricity bill to spend all my trips.”
Last May, the Jordanian government raised the prices of oil derivatives for the second time in a row this year, with rates ranging between 3.9 and 5.3%, while keeping gas prices and fuel tariffs in electricity bills.
Thus, the price of a liter of octane 90 gasoline increased to 0.92 dinars, the price of octane 95 gasoline to 1.18 dinars, and the price of diesel and kerosene (kerosene) increased to 0.68 dinars per liter, while keeping the price of a gas cylinder at 7 dinars (the Jordanian dinar is equivalent to 1.4 dollars). .
Khamis, who works as a mechanical engineer for sanitary installations, says, "At first, I was afraid of the electric vehicle and people talking about its expensive spare parts and the end of charging them on the road on long trips, but I decided to take the adventure because I was tired of gasoline expenses that increase with the rise in fuel monthly."
China is at the forefront of electric vehicle exporters to Jordan (Shutterstock)
Khamis confirms that most of his friends and acquaintances decided to replace their gasoline vehicles, even those who own hybrid cars (which run on gasoline and electricity) with electric vehicles, in light of the high gasoline prices on the one hand and the high prices that the Kingdom is witnessing on the other.
The number of fully electric vehicles - which were customs cleared in the free zone in Zarqa city to enter the local market during the first five months of this year - jumped by 195% to 5,265 vehicles, compared to 1,782 vehicles in the same period last year, according to official figures from the Investors Authority. Jordanian Free Zones.
high demand
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Free Zones Investors Authority, Muhammad Al-Bustanji, told Reuters that the reason for the significant increase in the customs clearance of electric cars is "the change of citizens' consumption pattern and the trend towards electric vehicles as a result of the rise in fuel prices and the increasing burdens on them."
Al Bustanji added that the other reasons are related to government subsidies for electric vehicles;
The customs fee is 10% compared to duties of about 50% for other cars.
He pointed out that there are several reasons behind the demand for electric cars in the Jordanian market, including the lack of supply from manufacturers of gasoline and hybrid cars, in addition to the ability of electric vehicles to travel longer distances in a way that competes with any traditional vehicles at a very low cost.
It is expected that the demand for electric cars in Jordan will increase by more than 20% during the coming period (Getty Images)
Al Bustanji expected that the demand for these cars will increase by more than 20% during the coming period, and pointed out that customs clearance of electric cars has become similar to gasoline vehicles.
He pointed out that China is at the forefront of countries exporting electric vehicles to Jordan, "because the vehicle factories in the world have moved in recent years to China due to the ability to provide large quantities of vehicles, the availability of modern technology, labor and competitive prices in raw materials."
Khamis says he is happy with his decision, especially after discovering that the electric car is safe and its problems are as simple as any other vehicle's.