Chinese electric car woos Lebanese consumers

A person walks past a poster of the Chinese electric car Zeekr in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)

by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Over 200 people gathered on Thursday evening at the headquarters of Impex, a car dealer in northern Beirut, to witness the launching of two Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) by Zeekr, a Chinese EV brand.

The two models are ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR X, a shooting brake and a compact SUV, both designed at Zeekr's Global Design Center in Gothenburg, Sweden.

At the event, representatives of Impex and Zeekr expressed confidence in the growing EV market in the region.

People look at the Chinese electric car, Zeekr, during its launch in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)

"We believe there is a huge potential for EVs in this region," Wang Hao, a regional managing director of Zeekr, told Xinhua,

"A lot of countries in this region promote the EV trend as part of their long-term vision, like in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia," Wang added.

Lebanon is an important market for Zeekr due to its location at the intersection between Asia and Europe, the diversity of its culture, and people's awareness and appreciation of advanced technologies, stressed the managing director.

People try out the Chinese electric car, Zeekr, during its launch in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)

Farid Homsi, vice chairman and general manager of Impex, told Xinhua that Lebanon's geography is EV-friendly, as the country is small and has plenty of mountains.

"When people drive their EVs down from the mountain, the battery will regenerate for up to 30 percent, which is a great advantage," Homsi said, adding that EVs are exempted from customs duties in Lebanon, and can help people save on the high costs of gasoline and maintenance.

Lebanese Economy and Trade Minister Amin Salam told Xinhua that the collaboration between Impex and Zeekr will help Lebanon catch up with the rest of the world in the realm of EVs, a priority today for reducing reliance on oil and gas.

"We are proud to have these EVs in Lebanon and look forward to seeing customers enjoying driving them. We are keen to improve our infrastructure to provide charging stations across Lebanon so people will be more interested in buying them," said the minister, expressing optimism for potential collaboration between Lebanon and China on other technologies.