Into The Future: Saudi Arabia gets first-ever electric car charging station

Saudi Arabia is working on a future plan that is set to introduce electric vehicles (EV) to the country in the next few years. 

In what is considered a major milestone in the scheme, the kingdom installed its first-ever commercial electric car charging station in Riyadh earlier this week. The new charging station is located near the city's airport road, at a branch of one of the largest local chains of petrol stations, SASCO. 

People who desire to own electric cars in Saudi Arabia can now look forward to making the switch.  

News of the installation comes just weeks after SASCO announced the launch of several charging points for electric cars at their petrol stations across Saudi Arabia. 

According to local news outlets, six other charging stations are going to be installed by the end of the year by American giant Schindler Electric.

In 2018, the kingdom followed into the UAE's footsteps, unveiling plans to power shift to electric vehicles in the coming decade. 

At the time, the country announced its state-owned Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) signed a deal with Japanese Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), Nissan Motor, and Takaoka Toko. The companies will collaborate on launching the kingdom's first EV pilot project.

In a statement on the matter, SEC revealed that "under the agreement, fast-charger stations will be developed to charge EVs in 30 minutes."

"Such a move is part of the company's strategy to reduce reliance on oil and cut emissions," SEC added.

Saudi Arabia's move towards shifting to EVs comes at a time when the kingdom is reducing its pollutive emissions into the environment after >failing to do so in previous years.