Saudi oil giant Aramco has entered a joint development agreement with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD to develop new energy vehicle technologies. The agreement signed by Saudi Aramco Technologies Company (SATC) is to improve vehicle efficiency and environmental performance for Saudi Arabia as they focus more on cleaner mobility solutions. Innovation In New Energy Vehicles The Aramco is trying to work on sustainable transport solutions. Aramco is exploring a number of ways to potentially optimise transport efficiency from innovative lower-carbon fuels to advanced powertrain concepts said Ali A. Al-Meshari Senior Vice President of Technology Oversight and Coordination at Aramco reported Reuters. This partnership will help Saudi Arabia to grow from a traditional oil-based country to a renewable energy economy. Saudi Arabia’s EV Plans The kingdom has set a target to increase EV adoption from 1% to 30% in the next five years. However they are facing challenges of limited infrastructure. Till 2024 Saudi Arabia had only 101 EV charging stations. To address this problem Elon Musk led Tesla launched operations in Saudi Arabia at an event in Riyadh on April 10. Tesla plans to support its growth in the region with online sales temporary pop-up stores and Supercharger networks in major cities. Tesla vs. BYD Saudi Arabias EV sector is becoming a battleground for the world’s two largest EV makers Tesla and BYD. Tesla is facing intense competition from BYD and reported a 13% drop in global sales in Q1 2025. CEO Elon Musk is also facing various controversies after his involvement with the new Donald Trump led US government. BYD is also expanding its market with affordable models and challenging Tesla in different regions.