Egypt to Promote Electric Vehicle Deployment

In a step intended to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, Egypt has decided to promote electric vehicle deployment.

As part of its 2030 vision to help turn things green in its cities, Egypt will make half of all new cars and buses sold in Egypt to be electric vehicles and build a network of several charging stations to help make electric vehicles more accessible to all Egyptians.

Also in this regard, it will be introducing new electric buses in the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, which is selected to host COP 27 on November 7-18.

In addition to this, Cairo Municipal Authority and the Public Transportation Authority will purchase 70 electric MCV C120 buses in a deal worth LE323 million.

Those electric buses will bear the name "Setibus," consisting of 49 seats in addition to standing spaces that are sufficient to accommodate 24 passengers. The maximum speed is 70 kilometers/hour, and the share of the local component is 60 percent.

The air-conditioned bus, which can cross a distance of 300-350 kilometers per charge, will also have WIFI and USB sockets. The body will be 100 percent Egyptian made and will be made of corrosion-resistant steel.

In the same connection, the government has launched a new incentive to make it easier for drivers and transportation firms across Egypt to purchase zero-emission vehicles.

Last year, Egypt adopted the idea of manufacturing electric vehicles, because of its advantages, including the low cost of maintenance and repairs, all with the signed agreement with one of massive China’s Electric-Vehicle companies that designs and manufactures trucks and buses.

It also announced that it is working to ban all diesel taxies and gasoline vehicles strolling in Sharm El-Sheik and Hurghada provinces, according to the latest decision taken by the government.

In 2019, the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) decided to ban the licensing of TokTok assembly and manufacturing plants in the country and replace this kind of gasoline vehicle with small electric sustainable vans.

This year, the government revealed that the first domestic electric car will be produced by 2023.

During the third panel of the World Youth Forum (WYF), the Minister of the public business sector Hisham Tawfik revealed the Egyptian electric car will be called either the E70 or the A70 and will sell for around $20,000, with half the buyers likely to be Taxi or Uber drivers.

Tawfik noted that the vehicle will cost the consumer much less than the international one.

Moreover, he mentioned that his ministry is in contact with three companies in its quest to obtain a partner for the El-Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Co. in the project, in which $127 million will be invested.

This project comes in line with the country’s strategy to support and fund the state-owned El-Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company, which is planned to produce also EVs in partnership with China’s Dongfeng Motor Industry Import and Export Company.

According to domestic reports, transportation counts for more than 23% of Egypt’s carbon dioxide emissions. It is also true that 88 % of all trips in Egypt are made by car. It makes sense, therefore, that if more Egyptians buy new electric cars and convert their cars to natural gas instead of gasoline fuel, there will be much less pollution and better air quality.

This would help all of us, especially those with respiratory illnesses, to breathe more easily. Moreover, with fewer gasoline vehicles on the road, the incidence of gridlock would decrease and overall traffic would flow more smoothly.