Sharjah company buys 50 Tesla electric trucks in first for region

The National -- Sharjah-based Bee’ah, the region’s fastest-growing environmental management company, will buy 50 Tesla Semi heavy duty electric trucks – the first and largest fleet of the newly unveiled vehicle in the Middle East – the company said at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

“Sustainability is at the very core of what we do, and the pursuit of this feeds into every level of our organisation. That is why we have made this investment in our transportation fleet, which occurs with a view towards a larger goal – achieving the objectives of the National Agenda for UAE Vision 2021," said Khaled Al Huraimel, the group chief executive of Bee’ah.

The organisation placed the order automotive brand’s revolutionary all-electric trucks immediately after their launch on November 16. As the company also eyes ambitious regional expansion, a larger transport fleet will ensure the new operational demands can be met.

The incoming Tesla Semis, which enter production in 2019, will primarily be used for waste collection and transportation, including transport of materials for recycling. They will also add to Bee’ah’s fleet of vehicles, which total over 1,000 today.

By using the new Tesla Semi trucks alongside the existing vehicles, those that run on compressed natural gas and on bio diesel, Bee’ah’s modernised fleet will continue to make a significant contribution to reducing the company’s carbon footprint, the firm said, in addition to its fleet of boats that use solar energy while cleaning lakes and water bodies.

The 50-truck purchase from Tesla is the first phase of the company’s transition to a fully eco-friendly fleet. Bee’ah is working on other future partnerships such as with some US based companies specialised in transforming diesel-powered vehicles into electric ones that will allow the company to get rid of all vehicles that run on diesel and contribute to better air quality on the country's roads, it said.