Qatar Automotive Gateway (QatarAg) is in negotiations with leading American and Asian companies specialising in the manufacture of aluminium components as well as the cathode and anode rods used in lithium-ion batteries, the main part in electric vehicles.
This was announced by QatarAg chairman Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad at the opening session of the second Middle East Automotive Summit, held yesterday under the theme “The New Age of Mobility”, as part of the Second International Edition of Qatar Motor Show.
Describing the summit as an ideal platform for launching QatarAg’s future projects, he recalled that the investment initiative was launched a year ago to establish an advanced industrial zone to host some of the most promising segments of the automotive industry value chain by 2020.
“The objective is to make it the main hub for the production of some of the main automotive components and parts,” the official pointed out.
“This ambitious project will enable us to further establish Qatar’s international stature by marking its presence on the new world automotive industry map,” al-Saad stated.
Referring to the first of year since QatarAg’s founding, the chairman said the period saw the company focusing all its efforts and investments on two sectors that promise increasing demand in the future of the automotive value chain.
The first sector of QatarAg’s involvement is automotive components and parts made of lightweight and composite materials such as carbon fibre and aluminium.
“This sector, highly important for the industry in general, is on the top of the investment priorities of the automotive companies, as the lightweight material technology contributes directly to the production process of lightweight vehicles that are fuel and energy efficient and help maintain a reduced carbon footprint while ensuring high performance and safety,” al-Saad explained.
The second sector is the advanced technology dedicated to the upcoming innovations of vehicle electrification, including lithium-ion batteries which are used also in energy storage systems.
Al-Saad revealed that QatarAg will today sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Prodrive, a UK-based company specialising in automotive engineering and technology, and a leading manufacturer of carbon fibre automotive components used by high end brands including Jaguar, Bentley and McLaren.
Earlier, Qatar Motor Show organiser Qatar Tourism Authority chairman Ahmed al-Nuaimi said the event was designed as a tourist attraction apart from promoting the vision of making the country a base and source for automakers.
Main sponsor Qatar Holding’s director Ali Dabbagh observed Qatar Motor Show had placed the country on the international map of auto exhibitions and worked as a component in fulfilling the vision to make it a hub for technology and development.
Diamond sponsor Shell’s country chairman Andy Brown spoke about a future of more efficient cars, fuels, lubricants and cities before introducing Scuderia Ferrari test driver Marc Gene who set the Corniche ablaze on Saturday by touching 301.9km/hr in a Formula 1 car and setting the perfect tone for the motor show.
- 2_482644_1_248.gif (36.74 KiB) Viewed 11578 times
