A new car is one of the biggest outlays a household makes, and in Arab society the question of whether it will be electric is still open. According to a consumer survey by the consultancy TASC, about 30%1 of driving licence holders in Arab society are considering an electric car for their next purchase, against about 45%2 in the Jewish population. Two other findings matter as much as the gap: cars in Arab cities cover more ground, and Arab respondents’ worries are not the ones the general market is used to answering. Here is what the verified data says, where it stops, and what importers, dealers and charging companies can do with it.

Uptake lagged, and the data is no longer fresh

According to an analysis by TASC, the electric car penetration rate in Arab localities was 4%3 in 2021 and 2022, well below the rate in Jewish localities over the same period. TASC does not say whether the rate is a share of new sales or of the whole fleet, so read it as a sign of direction rather than a market share.

Before these numbers go into a deck, it is worth knowing their limits. TASC is a commercial consultancy, and its article ends with a pitch for its services. It has not published the survey’s fieldwork date, sample size or method, so these are indicators, not official statistics. The dates matter too: the penetration data is several years old, which is a long time in the electric car market. We found no more recent verified figure on electric car purchases in Arab society.

More kilometres, more to save

According to TASC, a private, non-leased car registered in an Arab city drives about 30%4 further each year than one registered in a Jewish city. TASC also points to a higher level of car ownership in Arab localities, meaning more registered vehicles relative to the number of residents.

The figure is per vehicle and by city of registration, not per driver. It does not mean every Arab driver drives more, only that the average car in Arab cities clocks up more kilometres a year.

On paper, this is exactly the audience for whom an electric car should pay off: the more you drive, the more any saving per kilometre adds up by the end of the year. But the sums do not make the case on their own. In our view, anyone selling electric cars to this audience should show the saving in shekels, at real mileage and in Arabic, not in slogans about a green future. And if the saving depends on the charging tariff or on where people charge, say so plainly. An audience wary of surprises will value candour.

The gap is about trust, not a socket in the driveway

Another finding in TASC’s survey concerns worries. Among the Arab population, 17%5 feared “breakdowns and expensive spare parts”, against just 8%6 of the Jewish population. Concern that an electric car is not safe was also far more common among Arab respondents than Jewish ones, and TASC notes a worry about losing value because of the battery as well.

Home charging runs the other way. The lack of a charging point at home, the barrier every electric car marketer knows, troubles Arab respondents less: only 13%7 of the Arab population saw it as a barrier, against about 25%8 of the Jewish population. The survey does not explain the gap. It may have to do with housing type and parking, but that is our hypothesis, and the data does not test it.

Put together, the picture is clear. Compared with Jewish respondents, Arab respondents ask less “where will I charge?” and more “what happens when it breaks down, what will it cost me, and what will it be worth when I sell it?” Those are questions about reliability, service and value, and the answers are part of the product, not small print at the bottom of the ad. Safety worries need a concrete answer too: safety ratings, a plain explanation of the battery, and drivers from the community talking about their own experience.

Brand loyalty in a fast-changing market

TASC also asked an almost playful question: which do you prefer, Mercedes or Tesla? A clear majority of Arab respondents chose Mercedes, more than among Jewish respondents. It is a stand-alone question, not a measure of purchase intent, but TASC reads it as a sign of loyalty to long-established, familiar brands.

That loyalty meets a market on the move. In January 2026 fully electric cars made up 9.5%9 of new vehicle deliveries in Israel, a sharp fall from 2025, while plug-in hybrid deliveries kept rising. The share of new cars made in China keeps growing too: since early 2020 it has gone from a negligible level to a large slice of deliveries. These are figures for the whole market, not for Arab society, and we have no breakdown by audience.

We offer the link between these findings as a hypothesis: if Arab respondents are more loyal to familiar brands and more worried about breakdowns, makers and brands they know less well will have to work harder to win their trust. What will help is exactly what the survey points to: a clear warranty, accessible service centres, and spare parts at prices known in advance.

Another hypothesis is worth testing. For a buyer who drives a lot and is wary of the unknown, a plug-in hybrid may look like a less risky step than a fully electric car. We have no data on this for Arab society, but it is a question worth putting to a survey or a focus group before deciding which models lead the campaign.

What the data doesn’t tell us yet

Most of what is known about the Arab electric car buyer comes from a survey and an analysis by a commercial consultancy, from before the market’s recent swings. We found no recent verified data on electric car sales by locality, on public charging infrastructure in Arab localities, or on how taxation affects buyers in Arab society. Claims doing the rounds, such as that the electricity grid in Arab localities cannot cope with home charging, did not survive our checks: the source cited for them is about something else. So we have left them out.

That does not mean there is no problem, only that there is no figure we can stand behind. A brand entering this market can produce the data itself: enquiries, test drives and sales by area, the questions that keep coming up at the service desk, and feedback from dealers and garages in Arab localities.

What it means for marketers

Cars in Arab cities cover a lot of ground, Arab respondents are open to electric cars but not yet convinced, and what sets them apart from Jewish respondents is greater worry about breakdowns and repair costs; TASC also notes a worry about lost value. These are the steps we would start with:

  • Sell peace of mind, not just technology. A clear warranty on the car and the battery, a published price list for servicing and parts, and a courtesy car during repairs. That answers a worry far more common in this audience than in the general market.
  • Bring service close. A service centre or authorised garage in or near Arab localities, and Arabic-speaking staff in sales and service. Say so in the campaign itself, not just on the branch-finder page.
  • Show the sums. An annual running-cost calculator in Arabic, based on real mileage with stated assumptions about fuel and electricity prices, alongside an honest estimate of resale value.
  • Don’t build the message around home charging. Fewer Arab than Jewish respondents saw the lack of home charging as a barrier, and more of them worried about breakdowns and repair costs. Offer a charging solution, but give reliability, service and value more room than a charging-led campaign would.
  • Measure by area. Break down enquiries, test drives and sales by locality, so you can replace the 2021 and 2022 figures with current data of your own.