Egypt tests Chinese electric vehicles E70 on streets ahead of local production

Ahram Online , Saturday 21 Aug 2021

The testing is being carried out in cooperation with ride-hailing company Uber, a statement by the Ministry of Public Business Sector said Saturday

E 70/Uber test
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Business Sector.

Egypt has begun testing China-made E70 electric vehicles on streets as a preliminary step to locally produce its first ever version of the battery-driven cars by state-owned El-Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company starting mid-2022.

The test run, which includes nine E70 electric vehicles, is conducted in cooperation with ride-hailing company Uber, a statement by the Ministry of Public Business Sector said Saturday.

Egypt has received 13 E70 electric cars from Chinese Dongfeng Motor Corporation to be tried out on the streets of the capital as part of an agreement with El-Nasr Automotive to produce such vehicles.

Uber drivers were trained by a team from the Chinese company to drive and charge the cars, the statement added.

The cars are being put to the test under specific criteria, including running a distance of up to 30,000 kilometres over 3-4 months.

El-Nasr Company is slated to produce 25,000 cars in the first year starting mid-2022, according to the statement.

Egypt has 75 EV charging units and plans to increase them to 3,000 during the first year of the production of the E 70 cars.

Egypt has been working on a sustainable transport project in a bid to reduce fuel emission levels in the country. The country aims to boost its reliance on renewable energy as part of its efforts to achieve sustainable development.

Last year, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on the government to work on establishing a regional centre for manufacturing and exporting EVs in cooperation with global automakers.

In September 2018, Egypt had decided to exempt EVs from custom duties, only collecting value-added tax.

Tariffs were also reduced for hybrid vehicles operating on electricity and petrol.

electric vehicles

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