Elsewedy Plug and Ikarus Electric set to build EV charging stations in Egypt

Egypt’s EV landscape is getting some charge: Egypt’s Elsewedy Electric subsidiary Elsewedy Plug and Ikarus Electric have received a one-year license to build EV charging stations from the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (Egyptera), Al Borsa reports, citing a copy of the decision document it obtained. The number and locations of the charging stations have not been disclosed.

We knew this was coming: EGX-listed MB Engineering's EV charging subsidiary Sha7en signed an initial partnership agreement with Elsewedy Electric earlier this year to install, operate, and maintain EV charging stations over the coming three years. The agreement came shortly after Sha7en received its license to start operating EV charging stations.

Infinity dominates Egypt’s EV charging market: Our friends at Infinity have built at least 190 charging stations so far nationwide with plans to up that number to 300 by 2024, as part of a wider plan with the Egyptian government to eventually set up 6k vehicle charging points at 3k stations across the country. Last February, Misr Helwan Automotive began construction of EV charging stations in Greater Cairo.

The country’s EV ambitions are high: While Egypt’s industry is still nascent, two auto firms and distributors — Misr Helwan Automotive and Abou Ghaly Motors — have introduced EVs to the country’s car market this year. In February, Misr Helwan Automotive introduced Chinese auto firm Dongfeng’s E70 500 Pro electric vehicles, while Abou Ghaly Motors brought Chinese automaker Geely’s Geometry C electric car to the local market.

And plans to assemble cars in Egypt are on the table: Egypt is supporting Abou Ghaly and other private sector players with incentives to get a homegrown EV industry off the ground, with the country’s environment minister expecting the first locally-assembled EVs to roll off production lines in 2024. Stellantis, Nissan and Al Mansour Automotive expressed interest in investing a total of USD 145 mn in the nation’s auto industry over the next three years to produce a total of 60k-70k EVs and combustion engine vehicles every year.

Exports are also in the cards: Abou Ghaly is in talks with Geely to use Egypt as an export hub for the Chinese automaker’s EVs to Africa. Hinduja Group’s International Operation CEO Amandeep Singh said his company is currently exploring the possibility of establishing a factory in Egypt to serve as a manufacturing and export hub in the Middle East and Africa.