Chinese EV brands woo Yemen’s wealthy elite as war prompts solar boom

Like many Yemeni farmers, Salem Abdallah first bought solar panels to power a well pump to irrigate his fruit and vegetable crops. Now, he has a new use for the surplus electricity they generate – a Chinese-made electric pickup truck. “The roads between villages are rough and my farms aren’t all in one place, so the power and height give me a real advantage,” the 60-year-old told Climate Home News as he charged his plug-in hybrid Geely Riddara in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, where nearly a dozen charging stations have sprung up in the last two years. Prices for Abdallah’s Riddara model run from $25,000 to $40,000 – out of reach for all but a few in the impoverished country, where more than a decade of civil war has shattered the economy and made fuel supplies unaffordable for many. The conflict has also taken a heavy toll on the national grid, which only 12% of Yemenis rely on for electricity, according to the World Bank. Many homes and businesses have instead installed off-grid solar systems to confront frequent blackouts and patchy coverage in rural areas, and this improbable solar boom has caught the attention of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brands. Solar boom stirs Chinese interest China’s BYD, Geely and Jetour have opened dealerships in Yemen in recent years, betting that enthusiastic solar uptake, coupled with high fuel prices and shortages, will lead to rapid growth in the nation’s small and incipient EV market, at least among those able to afford the initial outlay. At the other end of the scale, electric two-wheelers are also starting to make inroads in Yemen among delivery services and salaried employees. Mohammed Ali, 25, an accountant at an exchange office in Sanaa, said the $1,050 he spent on a Chinese-made electric motorcycle was “the best decision I ever made”. “I charge my electric motorcycle at work and it saves me transportation expenses and time,” he said. May 20, 2026 Energy Electric car sales race ahead in SE Asia and Latin America amid oil