MAYS Unveils the Jewel: An Omani Hybrid That Reads Your Mood

On Tuesday evening, 27 October 2026, the Omani car brand MAYS unveiled its newest model, the Jewel, at Active Oman in Muscat. It is a seven-seat "super hybrid" with an emotional artificial intelligence system that reads the driver's facial expressions and tone of voice. The launch, reported by Oman Observer, came with a list of export agreements and a target of selling in more than 17 countries by 2030. It also leaves some basic questions open, which we cover below.

📌 Key Takeaways

• MAYS launched the Jewel, a seven-seat super hybrid, in Muscat on 27 October 2026
• Its in-car AI reads faces and voices to spot stress and fatigue, and it works in Arabic first
• MAYS cites deals in Uzbekistan, Italy and Bahrain worth about $38 million in announced value
• The company went from a 2022 concept car to customer deliveries in 2025
• The Jewel's price, specifications and powertrain details have not been published
• The launch includes a plan to provide 500 electric cars to Omani delivery drivers

🚗 What MAYS unveiled in Muscat

According to Oman Observer, the Jewel was launched under the patronage of Sayyid Ibrahim bin Said al Busaidi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism. Officials, investors and entrepreneurs attended.

It is the company's first seven-seater. Its first model, the Alive, is a five-seat electric SUV, which MAYS's official website lists with a 64 kWh battery, a range of about 500 km and prices starting from roughly RO 10,900. With a family-sized hybrid, MAYS is aiming at buyers who want more seats and fewer worries about charging. That matters in a country where long drives between governorates are normal.

The company's name comes from Maysoor, a famous Omani racehorse that was never beaten in international races. Its logo shows Oman's mountains, as the launch report notes.

🧠 Emotional AI: how it is meant to work

AI is the main thing MAYS is selling. Oman Observer reports that the company's emotional AI system:

• Reads facial expressions and tone of voice to detect signs of stress and fatigue
• Responds through conversation, music and changes to cabin settings
• Suggests a break when it judges the driver needs one
• Works in Arabic first, with English alongside

The MAYS website describes two parts. "Vision Intelligence" reads facial expressions and posture, and "Voice Intelligence" analyses tone, pace and energy. The company lists "Emotional AI Technologies" as one of its three core pillars.

Language is part of the export plan. When MAYS signed its Uzbekistan deal in September, it showed the in-car AI system running in Uzbek, according to Oman Observer. The company presents this as a key selling point over its competitors.

⚠️ The caveat

All of these claims come from the company and from launch coverage. We found no independent testing of how accurately the system detects fatigue or stress. Driver-monitoring technology is becoming common in cars around the world, so the real test for MAYS is performance, not the idea itself.

🌍 Export deals: Uzbekistan, Italy and Bahrain

At the launch, MAYS listed the international agreements it has signed so far. According to Oman Observer:

Together, the three foreign deals add up to about $38 million in announced value. The Bahrain figure is a sales target, not a firm order. Automotive data service MarkLines names Mohammed Jalal & Sons as the exclusive MAYS agent in Bahrain.

The Uzbekistan agreement was finalised at Oman's embassy in Tashkent and includes localisation, technical training and after-sales development, as Oman Observer reported in September. The same report said MAYS had not disclosed the Uzbek partner, the vehicle model, the delivery schedule or whether the cars would be assembled in Oman.

Co-founder Haider al Zaabi said the company's goal is "not only to compete, but to add something new to the world". Mohammed al Zadjali, MAYS's B2B Business Development Manager, said the signed agreements show "markets are looking for something different".

📜 From concept to customer: the MAYS timeline

• 2019: MAYS is founded, according to Oman Observer.
• 2022: The iE1 concept car is unveiled at Al Bustan Palace. The company then receives backing from the Oman Technology Fund and later research and development funding under Future Fund Oman.
• 2024: The company says its Alive SUV will come off a production line in Duqm's Special Economic Zone, with about 1,400 preorders, as Oman Observer reported at the time.
• February 2025: The first locally branded EVs are ready for institutional customers, using CALB batteries and Bosch components, with $1.5 million from a Shanghai-based investor, according to Oman Observer.
• September 2026: MAYS signs the $17.9 million Uzbekistan supply deal.
• October 2026: The Jewel is launched in Muscat.

❓ What we still don't know

The launch coverage was strong on ambition and short on detail. Buyers and investors should note these gaps:

• No price or specifications: No price, battery size, engine details, electric-only range or delivery date for the Jewel has been published. "Super hybrid" is not defined.
• Where it will be built: Recent reports do not say where the Jewel will be made or how much of the car is built in Oman.
• Partners not named: The Uzbek and Italian partners have not been named, and the delivery schedules have not been published.
• Privacy: A system that reads faces and voices collects personal data. Oman's Personal Data Protection Law will shape how that data can be stored and processed. MAYS has not said publicly whether the analysis happens inside the car or in the cloud.

Privacy is a real concern for local buyers. A National Centre for Statistics and Information survey reported by Oman Observer found that 43% of Omanis have used AI tools, and that some respondents were worried about privacy. Clear explanations of where in-car data goes could help MAYS win buyers.

💼 Impact on Oman's economy, jobs and startups

Most of the attention will go to the exports, but the plan at home may matter just as much. Oman Observer reports that a programme will provide 500 electric cars to Omani delivery drivers. If it goes ahead, it would put Omani-branded EVs to work in the busy delivery sector and give the company real-world data on how its cars and AI hold up under heavy daily use.

For the startup scene, MAYS shows the long road a hardware company faces in Oman. It took about six years and several rounds of public and private funding to go from founding to a second model. Oman has been building more support for homegrown tech companies, from the Oman Technology Fund that backed MAYS early to programmes such as the RO 1M Sas for Excellence scheme for local tech firms. The Jewel shows what that support can lead to, and also how much more money hardware companies need than software startups.

Arabic-first AI also has potential beyond cars. The same speech and vision technology could be used in fleet safety, public transport and logistics, all sectors Oman wants to grow.

🎯 The Vision 2040 connection

Oman Vision 2040 focuses on economic diversification, local value-added manufacturing and a knowledge-based economy. MAYS touches all three: it designs locally, makes AI part of the product rather than an add-on, and pursues non-oil exports through its agreements in Central Asia, Europe and the Gulf. Oman's 2050 carbon neutrality goal, which Oman Observer has linked to the push for EVs, gives the electric and hybrid range a policy tailwind too.

🇴🇲 Why this matters for Oman

A car designed in the Sultanate of Oman, with AI that speaks Arabic first and reads the driver's mood, is a strong symbol for a country trying to show it can make technology, not just buy it. Haider al Zaabi's question at the launch, "why can't the next global brand start from Oman?", is the right one to ask. Answering it will take more than a launch event: published specifications, independent testing of the AI, firm delivery dates and clear data privacy commitments. If MAYS delivers on these and the export deals turn into cars on foreign roads, the Jewel could do more for the "Made in Oman" label than any campaign.