Research Spotlight No. (6): A Comprehensive Review of Electric Vehicles in the Middle East and North Africa

In today’s research spotlight, we present a valuable scientific review recently published in one of the leading journals in renewable energy. The review addresses the current status of electric vehicles and sustainable urban mobility across countries of the Middle East and North Africa. It highlights the rapidly growing interest in electric vehicles in the region amid environmental challenges and rising consumption of conventional fuels.

The review shows that several countries have made clear progress in deploying electric vehicles, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, while other countries remain at early stages of adoption. It concludes that this variation in usage stems from differences in multiple factors, including government policies, the availability of charging infrastructure, population income levels, and the region’s hot climate, which directly affects the performance and longevity of batteries used in these modern vehicles.

The review also reaches important conclusions, emphasizing that the successful deployment of electric vehicles in the Middle East does not depend on a single factor, but rather on an interconnected set of policies, infrastructure, and technologies suited to local environmental conditions. The countries covered in the review have relied on diverse incentives to promote a culture of electric vehicle use; some achieved success through tax incentives, while others did so by investing in local manufacturing or charging networks. This scientific review serves as a reference for decision-makers and the general public, helping them understand the challenges and opportunities associated with electric vehicle adoption in the hot-climate context of the Middle East, as well as its potential role in reducing pollution and improving quality of life in the region’s cities.

The research was conducted by Associate Professor Shaimaa Barakat (Faculty of Engineering, Beni Suef University), Aykut Fatih Güven (Engineering Faculty, Yalova University, Yalova, Turkey), Professor Al-Moataz Youssef Abdel Aziz (Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University), and Professor Mohamed Mahmoud Sami (Faculty of Engineering, Beni Suef University).

This review compares electric vehicle adoption strategies across the Middle East and North Africa region, combining a systematic literature review with case comparisons, with the review period extending up to 2024. It identifies three archetypes: ecosystem builders, policy-driven outliers, and industrial hubs, and demonstrates that extreme heat is a critical technical constraint for battery selection and long-term durability. The study emphasizes that policy and infrastructure must be co-designed, highlighting the importance of fast-charging deployment, heat-aware battery standards, and renewable energy integration. The review provides targeted, implementable recommendations for policymakers and investors to enhance electric vehicle reliability, reduce emissions, and align industrial policy with transportation electrification objectives.

This review was published in 2025 in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, a leading international journal published by Elsevier. The journal is among the highest-ranked periodicals in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency, classified in the first quartile (Q1) according to Scopus rankings, and placed within the top 2 percent of sustainable energy journals worldwide. It is also indexed in Clarivate’s Science Citation Index Expanded and has a high impact factor of approximately 16.3, making it one of the most prominent reference journals in energy and environmental engineering.

DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.116154]


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