Middle East Construction

A vehicle maker completes a 10,000 square metre plant in Abu Dhabi and starts production

By Staff Writer  |  4 September 2026

ROX has finished its manufacturing centre in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi and rolled the first three vehicles off the line, with capacity of 20,000 vehicles in 2027 and a stated target of 300,000 a year by 2030.

ROX has completed what it calls its Advanced AI Manufacturing Centre in Abu Dhabi and started local vehicle production. The first three ROX Adamas vehicles carrying the Made in the Emirates mark have left the production line. The facility covers 10,000 square metres within Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, the KEZAD Group estate, and the company describes the start of production as a new stage in its localisation in the emirate.

The plant allows local sub assembly of more than 80 types of vehicle component, alongside complete vehicle assembly, calibration, rain testing, road testing and final inspection before delivery. Initial production capacity is expected to be 20,000 vehicles in 2027, with a plan to increase that to 300,000 vehicles a year by 2030, serving the domestic market and exports to regional and international markets.

Who stands behind it

The facility builds on a partnership between ROX and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office and is supported by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology under the Make it in the Emirates initiative and the national industrial strategy known as Operation 300bn. The company set up its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi last year, and the manufacturing centre is the second step of a localisation plan that was announced with that move.

A 10,000 square metre assembly hall with 20,000 vehicles of capacity in its first full year is a sub assembly and final assembly operation, not a body shop or a paint shop. The 300,000 figure for 2030 is a stated plan, and no expansion works, contractor or programme has been published for it.

ROX's progress in Abu Dhabi is a clear example of how industrial investments can translate into local production, deeper industrial capability and global growth. By anchoring more of its manufacturing and value chain in the emirate, ROX is contributing to an automotive ecosystem designed to support localisation, strengthen supply chains and enable exports. Abu Dhabi gives manufacturers the infrastructure, connectivity and partners to establish, scale and compete globally from a single base.

Mohammad Ali Al Kamali, Chief Trade and Industry Officer at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office

Design and research alongside the plant

ROX has also opened an AI lab and a design studio in Abu Dhabi. The AI lab is to serve as the base for the development of the company's ROX Agent platform, and the design studio brings together designers from the UAE, China and elsewhere. The studio's first project is an Abu Dhabi edition of the Adamas, developed with the Design Commission Abu Dhabi and Al Khaznah Leathers, with a design that draws on khoos, the traditional Emirati craft of weaving palm fronds. The company plans to unveil its first UAE designed vehicle in Abu Dhabi in March 2027.

Two vehicles from the first batch built in the UAE are to leave Abu Dhabi on a road journey across West Africa, through Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Casablanca, carrying the Made in the Emirates mark.

What to watch

For contractors and consultants working in the KEZAD estate, the relevant facts are the ones not yet published: no construction cost, main contractor or fit out contractor for the 10,000 square metre centre has been named, and the route from 20,000 to 300,000 vehicles a year implies either a much larger building or several of them, none of which has been announced. The number to test in 2027 is whether the first full year reaches the 20,000 vehicles the company has put its name to.