UAE-made vehicles attract interest from all over world

Idex 2013: The UAE Armed Forces will acquire 1,800 UAE-made vehicles from Nimr Automotive, part of the Abu Dhabi-based company Tawazun.

ABU DHABI // The UAE Armed Forces will acquire 1,800 UAE-made vehicles from Nimr Automotive, part of the Abu Dhabi-based company Tawazun.

In addition, Middle Eastern and North African firms have also expressed interest in buying the UAE-made vehicles.

Mohammed Al Mazroui, the general manager of Nimr Automotive, said the three new models of vehicles were presented during this week's Idex.

"We presented the 6x6 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), the Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle (MPCV) and the Internal Security Vehicle," said Mr Al Mazroui.

The Armed Forces announced the purchase of 800 vehicles earlier this week, with a second announcement, on Wednesday, revealing their intent on purchasing another 1,000 from different types.

According to Mr Al Mazroui the vehicles will all be delivered within the next five years. "We have had interest from North Africa - from east to west - who asked for more information and expressed a real interest," he said. "We will be following up with in the coming months and setting up trials."

Nimr supplies the UAE Armed Forces and the Algerian Armed Forces with their maiden 4x4 vehicles. "We have 2,000 orders for the 4x4 vehicles and earlier signed a contract with the Algerian government to build Nimr vehicles there," said Mr Al Mazroui.

According to Mr Al Mazroui the vehicles have a flexibility of use and can work in different environments to the ones present in the UAE. "Over the next 18 months we will be presenting the vehicles in Brazil, Turkey, all the GCC countries and the Middle East to present the vehicles' performance on their own terrain," he said.

Earlier this year, Nimr Automotive unveiled the first entirely Arab-built six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier. The Nimr 6x6 APC was designed and manufactured in the UAE by Emirati engineers over 18 months.