Hybrid vehicles will account for over a third of the 900 taxi vehicles to be purchased by the Dubai Taxi Corporation, a subsidiary of Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

“The procurement of the hybrid vehicles aligns with the directives … to optimise the use of energy in the UAE,” Mattar al-Tayer, RTA director-general and chairman, says in a statement. “The move is also part of RTA’s commitment to curbing carbon footprint of taxis by 2 per cent as required by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the Green Economy drive.”

Dubai-based automobile distribution firms Al-Futtaim Automotive, Arabian Automobiles Company and Juma al-Majid Establishment will supply the vehicles.

In addition to the 370 hybrid Toyota Camry units, the rest of the vehicles include:

• Toyota Camry (142 units)
• 193 Toyota Innova (193)
• Lexus (55)
• Toyota HiAce (1)
• Nissan Altima (15)
• Hyundai Sonata (123)
• H1 (1)