On Saturday, a Lebanese company announced the first homemade electric car, called "Jerusalem Rise", with a golden logo embodying the Dome of the Rock on the front.
According to a report by France 24 (france24), the director of the emerging eV Electra company hopes that his company will start this year producing up to 10 thousand cars in Lebanon, despite the stifling economic and social crisis that the country is facing, which is considered one of the worst in the world.
The red "Jerusalem Rise" car appeared in front of the cameras at the launch event in Khaldeh, south of Beirut, in the presence of the project's founder, the Lebanese-born Palestinian businessman Jihad Muhammad.
"This is the first car to be completely manufactured in Lebanon," Mohammed told reporters, pointing to the car, which bore a golden logo embodying the Dome of the Rock.
According to the project's founder, the price of an electric vehicle is $ 30,000.
Mohamed - who is the director of the emerging EV Electra company - hopes that this year his company will start producing up to 10 thousand cars in Lebanon, provided that the first production will be available in the market within a year.
Muhammad’s project comes after years of working in the telecommunications sector in Canada, Iraq and the Gulf states, after which he decided to go into the auto industry, and he established his company in Lebanon about 4 years ago, and about 300 Lebanese and Palestinian employees work in it.
In the long run, Mohamed seeks to enter the field of competition in the international market for electric and hybrid cars, and to achieve sales in the Lebanese market as well.
The unveiling of this car comes at a time when Lebanon is plunged into one of its worst economic crises in decades, and the car market is witnessing an unprecedented decline in sales due to the financial crisis and the imposition of restrictions on withdrawing deposits from Lebanese banks.
But the founder of the project confirmed that anyone wishing to buy the electric car can pay half of its price in dollars, and the other half in Lebanese pounds, at a low exchange rate compared to the black market price, and the remaining amount can be paid in installments over 5 years without interest.
To face the challenges of power cuts, the manufacturer of the new car plans to establish about 100 charging stations in separate regions of the country, to provide its vehicles with energy, while the company’s management confirmed that it is working on a project to recharge through solar and wind energy.
For her part, environmental expert Jessica Obeid welcomed the new vehicle, and told France 24 that "the energy sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Lebanon," adding, "If electric cars are equipped with solar charging stations, that would be a step in the direction." the correct".