(Yicai Global) Nov. 22 -- Yutong Bus, a Chinese supplier of new energy buses for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, plans to build a factory in the Middle Eastern country.

Yutong will build an electric bus plant in the free-trade zone of Qatar, a country with rich petroleum and natural gas resources, a source at the Zhenzhou-based firm told Yicai Global.

In 2020, Yutong won the bidding to become the World Cup’s community services bus supplier. Around 1,500 buses, including over 885 pure-electric ones, are running between tournament venues on Qatar’s streets. Following the World Cup, they will become part of the country’s public transport system.

“Before the entry of these electric buses, Qatar barely had any electric vehicles as the oil-fueled ones monopolized the market,” said Shen Hui, general manager of Yutong’s Middle East business.

This is the first soccer world cup that uses new energy buses and the first big China-made new energy bus fleet deployed at a major international sporting event.

Before tapping Qatar’s market, Yutong sent a research team to study the weather, road conditions, customer habits, as well as laws and regulations, and then developed tailored vehicles.

It equipped the buses with innovative air conditioning systems and power batteries, as well as sand and mud prevention gear, to tackle the challenges posed by the local environment, such as high temperatures, strong winds, and sand. It also included a special services guarantee scheme.

Editor: Martin Kadiev