Egyptian investment firm GV Investments has signed a partnership agreement with Chinese auto manufacturing giant FAW Group to produce affordable electric vehicles (EVs) for Egypt, GV Investments CEO Sherif Hamouda told Asharq Business on May 27.
Under the agreement, a subsidiary of Egyptian GV Investments is set to start local production of FAW’s lowest-cost model in the first quarter of 2025, with the necessary industrial facilities requiring an investment of US$20 million (EGP 951 million).
Known in China as the Bestune E05, the car is priced at around US$17,500 (Egyptian pounds 832,000) in China, making it one of the most affordable electric cars in the world.
Hamouda explained that the company aims to expand manufacturing over the next three to five years to produce cars with 65 percent locally sourced content for export to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America.
He added that the ride-hailing sector will be the vehicle’s main target market.
Other domestic auto manufacturers, including state-owned El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company and Al Mansour Automobiles, have also recently pursued opportunities to produce electric vehicles.
The company’s electric vehicle venture is the latest for the North African country of about 106 million people, which still has just a few thousand battery-powered cars on the roads.
“Changing the culture of using fossil fuel-powered vehicles is not easy…”[electric cars] “Without government support, it won’t catch on,” Hamouda said, calling on the government to provide more incentives to encourage potential buyers.
As of 2023, there are only about 4,000 electric vehicles in use in Egypt, compared to about 10 million standard vehicles.
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