EGYPT – Egypt has announced intentions to start the production of electric cars as from 2021 to cut down on carbon emissions which affect the air quality in Egypt’s major cities and contribute to global warming.
Egypt’s Minister of Public Enterprise Hisham Tawfik in a phone interview with Egypt Today revealed that the North African country would start producing 25,000 electric cars annually starting 2021.
Tawfik further revealed that the environment friendly vehicles will be affordable as each unit will be sold to consumers LE 300,000 (US$18,600).
According to a report by Egypt Today, the electric cars will be produced by El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Co, which will re-operate after 11 years of closure.
Before its closure, El Nasr had operated in Egypt for over 40 years and had manufactured close to 384,000 cars.
The factory purchased 2008 new machinery that has be subjected to periodic management to ensure its in good condition to deliver Egypt’s first locally made electric cars.
The electric vehicle according to Tawfik is originally Japanese, and has capacity to reach 400 kilometers per charge.
This ability according to the minister of public enterprise in Eypt will save up to LE 8,000 (US$497) per 10,000 kilometers.
The minister expressed hope that half the production will be purchased by taxi drivers given that the electric vehicle requires less maintenance than regular ones.
Tawfik further noted that the brand for the electric vehicle was selected in September, and that two months later a Chinese team visited Egypt to prepare for the project.
The project however stalled due to the Covid19 pandemic which disrupted activities in all sectors of the economy world wide.
However, the ministry revealed that earlier this month, the cooperation protocols were signed, and within the next three months, feasibility and detailed studies will be finished.
To further promote the uptake of electric vehicles in Egypt, the Ministry of Electricity will establish 1,000 fast charging stations annually with a capacity of 50 kilowatts for a period of at least 3 years.
Egypt also plans to offer incentives, including the launch of a program to replace taxis with 11,000 electric taxis.
Among these incentives is the obligation of government agencies to replace 5 percent of the fleet of cars annually (7,000 cars) with electric vehicles.
The government of Egypt also revealed that it had plans to provide investors with subsidies for the first 100,000 locally manufactured electric car worth LE 50,000 per car.
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