Paula Munir has been driving gas-powered cars for years. Recently, he bought a BYD Song L sport utility vehicle, when he said it was full of praise. "My car can travel more than 600 kilometers on a single charge, and Chinese electric vehicles are doing a great job in terms of technology and battery quality!" Munir told reporters that BYD, Geely, polar Krypton, Nio and other Chinese electric car brands are being favored by more and more Egyptians. On his recommendation, some friends also bought Chinese electric cars.
Tamer Sabri, head of an electric car sales store in Cairo, said people tend to buy electric cars with price advantages and good quality, and Chinese electric cars have these characteristics.
The popularity of Chinese electric vehicles in the Egyptian market is also related to the Egyptian government's accelerating energy transition. Ousama Abdel-Majid, president of the Egyptian Automobile Dealers Association, said that the Egyptian government has been focusing on importing electric vehicles since 2021, when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched an important initiative called "Green Mobility." The initiative has two parts: one is to focus on replacing vehicles older than 20 years, and the other is to encourage the use of electric vehicles and build a sound infrastructure for them.
It is understood that relative to the high tariff on fuel vehicle imports, Egypt has implemented a "zero tariff" policy on electric vehicle imports. At the same time, Egypt is also accelerating the layout of electric vehicle charging facilities. In 2020, there were only 12 charging stations in Egypt; today there are more than 1,200. The government has also encouraged foreign car companies to set up factories in Egypt. In 2022, the Egyptian government launched a national strategy for the localization of the automotive industry and established the Supreme Council of the Automotive Industry, personally headed by the Prime Minister, to promote the localization of the production of automobiles, especially electric vehicles.
People in the Egyptian auto industry generally believe that China's electric vehicles have a significant impact on the development of the world's electric vehicle industry, and cooperation with China in electric vehicle manufacturing will help the implementation of Egypt's electric vehicle industry localization strategy. The reporter learned that Egypt GV Investment Company and China FAW Group reached a cooperation agreement in the first half of this year, and plans to start production of China FAW's affordable electric vehicles in Egypt in the first quarter of 2025. In the next three to five years, GV Investment plans to localize 65 percent of its vehicle components and export its products to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America.
"In the near future, we will see more than one Chinese brand of electric vehicles manufactured entirely in Egypt." Majid told reporters.