As the scorching Gulf sun beats down on Qatar's highways, a quiet revolution in green transportation is brewing. Recently, Hong Kong-listed company ZHIDA TECH (02650) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a subsidiary of Qatar's Ministry of Transport, using its integrated solar-storage-charging and automatic charging robot solutions as a strategic pivot to formally and deeply enter this core Middle Eastern market undergoing energy transition. This move is not only a key strategic placement for ZHIDA TECH's global expansion but also reflects the upgrade of China's new energy technology from product export to comprehensive ecosystem solution export, writing a new footnote for the global reach of "Made in China with Wisdom."
Qatar's demand for cooperation stems from its urgent need for a green transition. As a major economy in the Gulf region, Qatar is accelerating its shift away from sole reliance on traditional energy sources, integrating green transportation into the core agenda of its national sustainable development strategy, with plans to establish a comprehensive clean energy and green transportation infrastructure system by 2030. The subsidiary of the Qatari Ministry of Transport, a leading local transportation service provider, operates a large fleet of electric vehicles but faces challenges such as low charging efficiency in high temperatures and the inconvenience of manual operations—summer temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius, making plugging and unplugging charging cables outdoors a significant practical difficulty.
ZHIDA TECH's technological solutions precisely match this market demand. The core strength underpinning this collaboration is its technical prowess. With 15 years of deep industry experience, ZHIDA has built differentiated competitive barriers through its two core technologies: integrated solar-storage-charging and automatic charging robots. In the solar-storage-charging field, it has already deployed a pilot integrated photovoltaic and energy storage station at the Qatar Science and Technology Park, enabling solar self-generation and consumption with excess power stored, perfectly suited to the Middle East's abundant solar resources and unstable grid environment, providing an independent and reliable energy supply solution for the region.
More groundbreaking is its automatic charging robot business. Its new-generation "Spirit Snake" product employs a rope-driven flexible arm structure, offering precise plugging/unplugging and strong environmental adaptability. Having undergone over two years of practical validation at Hong Kong Airport, this product boasts a gross profit margin exceeding 30%, significantly higher than the approximately 20% for traditional charging piles. It effectively addresses the Middle East's high-temperature outdoor charging challenges while aligning with the region's characteristic of high labor costs.
The phased implementation strategy for this cooperation highlights ZHIDA TECH's mature business model and localized operational thinking. The first phase has already completed the deployment of the pilot integrated solar-storage station, providing the Qatari Ministry of Transport's subsidiary with a full set of DC charging piles and comprehensive solar energy solutions, rapidly validating technical compatibility. The second phase will focus on the R&D and deployment of automatic charging robots, specifically targeting efficiency bottlenecks in large-scale fleet operations. This "technical validation-scenario adaptation-scale promotion" pathway both reduces market entry risks and allows for continuous product optimization based on local operational data, tailoring solutions to the Middle East's specific climate and grid conditions, thereby creating a replicable model for regional cooperation.
The Qatar partnership is a significant milestone in ZHIDA TECH's Middle East strategy and a logical extension of its global ambitions. Prior to this, the company signed a major order with a partner in Saudi Arabia and simultaneously announced the official commencement of construction for a factory there—marking the launch of its second overseas production base following the Thailand factory's operation in 2024, signaling a new phase in its globalization strategy (ZHIDA 2.0). Leveraging the manufacturing capacity from the Saudi base and the demonstration effect of the Qatar project, ZHIDA is using these two countries as dual hubs to gradually expand into surrounding nations like the UAE and Kuwait, forming an overseas expansion model of "technology export + local manufacturing + ecosystem co-creation."
This strategic layout is not an isolated action but aligns with the explosive demand in the Middle Eastern market—Saudi Arabia alone plans to invest $39 billion in developing its new energy vehicle ecosystem, and the demand for charging infrastructure across the Gulf region is entering a rapid growth phase. Capital markets have already keenly recognized this strategic value. Since its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2025 as the "first global smart charging pile stock," ZHIDA TECH's share price has shown strong performance, with its market capitalization surging over HKD 10 billion within 50 days. Entering January 2026, with a series of positive developments regarding its Middle East partnerships, the company's stock price continuously刷新ed historical highs, closing at HKD 314 on January 16, with a total market cap突破ing HKD 18.7 billion, representing a gain of over 260% from its IPO price. Behind this market enthusiasm lies recognition of its technological barriers and global growth potential—compared to price competition in the domestic market, the premium pricing power and profitability potential in overseas markets have opened up a second growth curve for the company.
The deeper significance of ZHIDA TECH's Qatar project lies in its reflection of the evolution of China's green technology export model. In the past, China's new energy exports primarily consisted of "product hardware" like components, batteries, and complete vehicles. Today, companies like ZHIDA, venturing abroad with "systematic solutions" that integrate hardware, software, algorithms, and energy management concepts, are becoming a new trend. This is not merely the flow of goods but the export of technical standards, operational models, and business ecosystems. Notably, as an extension of the automotive industry chain, the overseas expansion of charging equipment synergizes with the global expansion of new energy vehicles; the worldwide growth of automakers like BYD provides a natural market foundation for ZHIDA, while ZHIDA's technological deployments further enhance the overseas new energy ecosystem.
This collaborative出海 model not only enhances the global influence of Chinese companies but also propels the global green transition into a new phase of high efficiency and intelligence. Of course, the path to globalization is not without challenges. Differences in technical standards and safety regulations in the Middle East market, along with intensifying regional competition, pose higher demands on ZHIDA TECH. However,凭借 a track record of 1.3 million cumulative global shipments and localization manufacturing experience gained in Thailand and Saudi Arabia, ZHIDA has built the capability to meet these challenges. As ZHIDA TECH's founder Huang Zhiming stated, the global expansion of Chinese automobiles requires navigating three stages: "going out, going in, and going up," emphasizing the need to deeply cultivate local markets and enhance brand value. This philosophy underscores its determination to propel Chinese new energy technology onto the global stage.
ZHIDA's cooperation with Qatar is a small but significant footnote in this narrative. When charging robots from China, under the starlight of the Persian Gulf, automatically inject clean electricity converted from solar power into electric buses, they are connecting not just vehicle batteries, but also the shared commitment of two nations to a sustainable future, and a vision of global green infrastructure that is being redefined by Chinese technology.
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