Free Salik tag, registration renewals and charging for electric cars in Dubai

The Dubai Road & Transport Authority and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) have jointly announced a number of incentives for electric cars owners to promote electric car ownership in they city.

Dubai RTA will offer electric vehicle owners perks such as free “green vehicle” parking spots at 40 different locations by the end of this year, exemption from RTA registration and renewal fees, and will get a free Salik tag upon registration. A unique number-plate sticker for electric vehicles will be provided to help parking inspectors differentiate the vehicles in public places.

DEWA will enable EV owners to charge their vehicles at 100 green charging stations across Dubai for free until the end of 2019. The authority is working on installing 100 more charging stations to bring the number up to 200 by 2018.

Apparently there are less than 800 electric vehicles currently in Dubai. According to DEWA studies, Dubai expects the number of electric and hybrid cars on the road to reach 32,000 by 2020 and 42,000 by 2030.

The RTA recently unveiled 50 Tesla cars for its limo taxi fleet, with aims to make up 50% of Dubai’s taxi fleet with electric vehicles by 2021.

DEWA has currently set the tariff for charging using their Green Chargers at 29 fils per kilowatt, although this will be waived for the next two years. You have to pay if you charge at your villa, as part of your usual DEWA bill.

Since the question of apartment dwellers lacking home-charging facilities remains, it will apparently become mandatory for developers to designate 5% to 10% of their parking spaces for electric vehicles in upcoming buildings as well as provide EV charging stations. This doesn’t help anyone living in most existing apartments though, who will have to hang out around charging stations for half an hour to refuel, if they choose to go electric. The low-end electric cars offer a range of about 200 km in ideal conditions, while the cheapest Tesla Model S is rated at about 350 km ideally.