Hyundai Motor`s Sonata Hybrid

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South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has won an order to supply 1,232 Sonata Hybrid taxis in Dubai, gaining headway in the environmentally-friendly vehicle market in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Middle East.

Hyundai Motor said on Wednesday that it signed a contract with Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), a subsidiary of Roads and Transport Authority, and Cars Taxi, the largest taxi service provider in the UAE, to supply 1,232 Sonata Hybrid taxis in Dubai, the most populous city in the country. The order that has been placed in 78 percent of total hybrid taxi orders for next year in Dubai.

The contract comes after Hyundai Motor first began supplying LF Sonata Hybrid taxis in Dubai in 2018. The additional supply is expected to increase Hyundai Motor’s market share in the hybrid taxi industry in Dubai to 62.5 percent by the end of next year, up from 13 percent this year. As of the second half of this year, there are 2,241 hybrid taxis operating in Dubai.

Demand for hybrid taxis is expected to go up under the Dubai government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions. It plans to replace half of the taxis to hybrid ones by 2021.

Hyundai Motor, meanwhile, plans to make inroads into other environmentally-friendly vehicle markets in Abu Dhabi and nearby countries in the Middle East.

An unnamed official from Hyundai Motor said that the latest supply contract has allowed the automaker to promote its image as a provider of green vehicles by providing Sonata Hybrid taxis in Dubai with 15 million annual visitors.

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