Abu Dhabi signs up 3 more smart vehicle companies

Unsplash.com/Andrew Roberts

Masdar City’s smart and autonomous vehicles industry (SAVI) cluster has signed up three more companies, it was announced at Gitex Global this week.

Abu Dhabi earlier this month unveiled plans to establish Savi, which aims to add up to AED120 billion ($33 billion) to the country’s economy.

Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, and NWTN, a UAE-based smart vehicle company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which allows the latter to benefit from the testing facility set up at Yas Island.

Silicon Valley-based autonomous driving company Pony.ai has also signed a deal with ADIO to use the Yas Island testing facilities.

As of October 2023, Pony.ai has completed over 25 million km of autonomous driving mileage across diverse geographies.  

ADIO also signed an agreement with Star Charge, a China-based EV charging company looking to expand its global operations by setting up its regional headquarters in the SAVI cluster.

Claire Wang, Star Charge, GCC country manager, said the partnership with ADIO will catalyse the growth of EV adoption and the transition to cleaner, smarter new energy ecosystem in the region.

Abu Dhabi is developing a multi-modal cluster to accelerate the deployment of smart and autonomous vehicles across air, land and sea. 

Savi will enable access to funding and investments, streamline regulatory services, and fast-track future mobility solutions.