CAIRO: Egypt will begin testing electric cars on the country’s streets from July, ahead of plans to launch full-scale production of the vehicles from mid-2022.
Thirteen imported electric vehicles will be tested on Egyptian streets from next month, Hisham Tawfik, minister of the Egyptian public enterprise sector, said while attending the launch of the Nasr E70 electric car.
Nine of the electric cars will be tested by drivers nominated by Uber, the global ride-hailing company, he added.
The Nasr E70 is scheduled to start production in mid-2022 with the El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company, an affiliate of the Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector’s Metallurgical Industries Company.
Tawfik said that the ministry began studying the electric car production project in mid-2019 as part of efforts to reform and develop its affiliated companies, including the revival of El Nasr Automotive Company.
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E70
The Nasr E70 is scheduled to start production in mid-2022 with the El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company.
The project is in line with the global move toward electric cars and aligns with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directives to localize the manufacture of vehicles used for clean energy.
The Dongfeng Corporation, one of the largest automobile producers in China, is partnering in the production of the Nasr E70 vehicle, the minister said.
An agreement between El-Nasr and Dongfeng was signed in June 2020 following months of negotiations.
The Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector recently released images of the first electric car of its kind in the country.
El Nasr CEO Hani El-Khouly said that three types of electric car models will be available in Egypt, based on battery capacity.
Batteries initially will be made in China, with production later shifting to Egypt.
Trials of the imported cars will continue for up to four months under a range of Egyptian conditions and with different drivers.
The Nasr E70 can reach a speed of 145 kilometers per hour and travel up to 400 km on a single charge.
El-Khouly said that a delegation from China will arrive in Egypt in July to follow up on the tests.
Government subsidy of the car will total about EGP50,000 ($13,333) to support the local market, he said.
