A salesman cleans a Chinese electric vehicle at a dealership in Amman, Jordan, on July 6, 2023. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)
AMMAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese cars are taking a majority share of Jordan's imported electric vehicle (EV) market in the first half of 2023, according to the Jordan Free Zone Investor Commission.
Between January and June, some 16,000 foreign-made EVs entered a major free trade zone in Jordan's central governorate of Zarqa, said Jihad Abu Nasser, secretary and representative of the vehicle sector in the commission.
Around 80 percent of them were manufactured in China, he told Xinhua in a recent interview, adding that China-made EVs have proven their performance and worth in the Jordanian market, especially over the past two years.
He attributed China-made EVs' popularity to their trade-off between affordability, performance and reliability.
And Jordanian consumers also place a high value on the EV's battery life, and China's tech advantage in this realm helps their brands to stand out, he noted.
Jihad Abu Nasser, secretary and representative of the vehicle sector in the Jordan Free Zone Investor Commission, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Amman, Jordan, on July 6, 2023. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)
Khaled Jaber, an owner of a China-made EV, said he and his family members bought more EVs from China after his first Chinese EV proved its worth on the road.
"My family members were encouraged to replace their cars with Chinese EVs," he told Xinhua.
Today, Jordanian families tend to choose comfortable and spacious economy cars, which are broadly available among the 13 different brands of Chinese EVs being sold in Jordan, said Rami Al-Shafi, an auto business professional.
"We always ask customers about their impressions after purchasing Chinese EVs, if they encounter any problems or malfunctions, while the answers are always 'excellent,'" he added.
The local vehicle market is undergoing a major shift in consumer preferences to greener transportation options, and Chinese brands came and took the opportunity by catering to the rising demand, Abu Nasser said.
Jihad Abu Nasser, secretary and representative of the vehicle sector in the Jordan Free Zone Investor Commission, poses for a photo with a Chinese electric vehicle in Amman, Jordan, on July 6, 2023. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)
In the first six months this year, clearance for gasoline-powered cars in Jordan dropped by 13 percent year-on-year, while clearance for diesel-powered vehicles decreased by 27.7 percent, he noted.
The shift is also supported by the Jordanian government eyeing emission reduction, which has set a reduced tax rate of 10 percent for EVs compared to a 55 percent special tax on hybrid cars and 95 percent on gasoline ones.
He said that huge import demand for EVs in the coming periods will back the popularity of Chinese EVs in the long run, as long as the locals' demand for quality and durability persists. ■
