According to Gulf News, Esma, the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, has drafted unified regulations and standards for electric vehicles (EVs), which will come into effect from the end of this year and all EVs and hybrid vehicles entering Dubai will have to comply with the new standards from next year, Abdullah Al Muaini, director-general of Esma.
The UAE is aggressively promoting the use of electric vehicles that are friendly to the environment as part of its effort to reduce the country’s carbon footprint and develop a sustainable economy. However, the country still has a long way to go as regards federal law to regulate the sale and use of the battery-powered vehicles.
Esma, in a bid to get the country ready for this development, is now in the process of not just putting in place standards and regulations but is also looking to create a conducive atmosphere that will encourage use of vehicles powered by clean energy.
The standards are to apply to all members states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The standards for the electric vehicles include the material used in the batteries, its adaptability to local weather conditions as well as safety levels. The law details the following;
- Battery life to have a minimum of 1,000 charging cycles
- Electric range or distance travelled per charge to be minimum of 250km at 100km/h-110km/h
- No electric shock should result from an impact
- All high voltage electric components to be away from passenger cabin
- No battery spill till 30 minutes after the impact of accident
- Batteries compatible with high ambient temperature of the GCC
The drive to promote electric vehicles with the launch of EV charging stations as well as putting in place the mechanism and apparatus to inspect and register the vehicles has been by spearheaded Dubai.
