British firm Watt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC), winner of Autocar's 2026 Innovation Award, has struck a deal with Qatari investor JTA International Investment Holding — and it will be Qatar's first-ever electric vehicle factory. According to Autocar, the new plant is expected to be ready for production to start in early 2028.
The first models will be a passenger EV and a medium-sized delivery van in the vein of the WEVC eCV1 prototype. Initial output will sit around 5,000 vehicles a year — but capacity is set to grow considerably from there.
The engineering side stays firmly British: WEVC will handle vehicle design from new premises it's about to open in the Midlands, on top of its existing bases in Cornwall and Worcestershire. Assembly, though, will happen entirely in Qatar. Both vehicles are built on WEVC's aluminium modular PACES architecture, using patented extrusions and joining pieces that dramatically simplify tooling and cut manufacturing costs. As part of the partnership, the cars will also be adapted for Gulf conditions — high temperatures and tougher battery-cooling requirements included.
WEVC founder and CEO Neil Yates isn't hiding his ambitions: the Qatari deal, he says, will accelerate his company's own plans to establish EV manufacturing in the UK and act as a forerunner for similar satellite operations in the US and Asia. “We want to be a partner in local manufacturing operations around the world,” he said. “Our way of making cars is being seen as a very effective way of coping with geopolitical difficulties like the rise of tariff barriers. It's also very cost-efficient because it requires low capital expenditure.”
Tarantas News previously reported on the launch of another electric model built on a dedicated van platform — the Mercedes VLE. WEVC and JTA have yet to reveal the names of the future vehicles, their specifications, or the exact location of the new plant.
