Egypt to build electric vehicles

Past attempts to build so-called "national" cars in the region have faltered over quality issues and a lack of brand enthusiasm.

In the early 1960s, the Egyptian-built compact "Ramses" symbolized the county's drive for self-sufficiency.

While promoted by Egypt's post-colonial leader, President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ramses' five-to-six-cars per day assembly line and reputation for mechanical unreliability doomed the national brand.

Nasser kept his presidential vehicle, a 1962 Cadillac Fleetwood.

By 1972, the state-owned Al-Nasr Automotive factory discontinued Ramses' production.

The Al-Nasr company switched to producing Fiat models licensed by Turkish manufacturer Tofaş.

In January, President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi reprised notes of Nasserist ambition, telling the World Youth Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh that he was personally committed to seeing EVs built in Egypt.

"We have moved quickly to establish a partnership with many companies to produce electric cars in Egypt," El-Sisi said. "Starting in 2023, we will produce the first Egyptian electric car."

At the same event, Hisham Tawfiq, Minister for Public Enterprises, announced that military-owned Al-Nasr Automotive was negotiating with Chinese auto manufacturers to fulfill the presidential directive.

Meanwhile, in the country's private sector, General Motors and its Egyptian partner Al Mansour Automotive are building a facility to roll out Cadillac's all-electric midsize luxury SUV Lyriq in Egypt by the end of next year.

GM Middle East plans to launch 13 all-new EVs, building an EV line-up that includes the Chevrolet Bolt Electric Utility, a Hummer EV.

In the run-up to the locally hosted COP 27 conference, Egypt made visible strides in building a network of DC fast-charging charging stations required by an electric fleet.

Infinity Power- a joint venture between Egypt's Infinity Energy company and the UAE firm Masdar- is already operating around 440 charging points across the country.

The company feeds the network electricity from the massive 37.2 square kilometer (14.4 square mile) Benban solar park in Aswan.

"We expect to see up to seven thousand more electrical vehicles on the road in 2023 with an annual 10% increase going forward," said marketing director Karim El Gazzar. "We are fulfilling the government's plans to build a robust ecosystem for EVs."