Aramex, the Middle East's largest courier company, will begin using 10 electric vehicles (EVs) in Jordan, its initial move in a long-term strategy to move the company's entire fleet away from fossil fuels.
The logistics firm will expand its EV line into the UAE, Egypt and Lebanon over the next 12 months. "Where regulations and infrastructure allow, we will be looking to introduce electric vehicles to all of the 72 markets in which we operate," said Raji Hattar, the chief sustainability officer at Aramex.
Aramex's Delivering Good initiative has already resulted in a 20 per cent decrease in carbon emissions across its operations last year. The company is targeting a further 20 per cent reduction by 2020.
To reach this target, the logistics company has also completed a 1.2 megawatt (MW) solar power farm to supplement its Amman operations, while its Dubai warehouse is currently being outfitted with 7MW of solar power.
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The Dubai company is following a long list of recent announcements, including major car makers, to phase out fossil-fuelled cars for more eco-friendly versions.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) said in its Electric Vehicle Outlook 2017 report that EVs will make up the majority of new car sales globally by 2040, accounting for 33 per cent of all the light-duty vehicles on the road, replacing 8 million barrels of transport fuel
per day.
"We see a momentous inflection point for the global auto industry in the second half of the 2020s," said Colin McKerracher, lead advanced transport analyst at BNEF. "Consumers will find that upfront selling prices for EVs are comparable or lower than those for average [internal combustion engine] vehicles in almost all big markets by 2029."
BNEF forecasts EV sales worldwide to grow to 3 million by 2021, up from 700,000 last year. However, the key component will be to also increase the infrastructure required to help such vehicles travel greater distances. "There is a credible path forward for strong EV growth, but much more investment in charging infrastructure is needed globally," said Said Salim Morsy, senior analyst on BNEF's advanced transport team and lead author of the report.