Tighter import rules coming for Chinese EVs: The Madbouly government is preparing to restrict imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles so that only officially licensed agents are able to get their hands on them, a government source told EnterpriseAM. The decision aims to ensure that all EVs imports comply with local environmental and safety regulations.

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A fix for the Chinese charging crisis? The move is expected to help resolve the ongoing issue with Chinese-standard EV chargers. Officials are in talks with Chinese automakers to ensure that all Egypt-bound EVs delivered through official agents come fitted with the European-standard CCS2 fast-charging protocol — now the only one approved for public charging infrastructure.

ICYMI- The country’s utilities regulator Egyptera in April had ordered public fast-charging stations to abandon China’s GB/T protocol in favor of CCS2. The move left some 80% of Egyptian EV users in search of alternative ways to charge, with four fifths of all EVs on Egyptian streets having come from China and much of the EV infrastructure built to cater to these drivers.

Charger standard to be tweaked for agent-backed imports: The new import framework will be accompanied by revisions to Egypt’s technical standard for EV chargers, the source said.

Importers aren’t happy with the decision, which they say could create supply bottlenecks just as Egypt is trying to accelerate EV adoption and attract new Chinese investment, head of the Clean Energy Committee at the Cairo Chambers of Commerce’s auto division Ahmed Zein told EnterpriseAM. He added that his division has called on the government to amend the charging spec and re-approve Chinese chargers — a move that would support some 10k EVs on Egyptian streets.

Technical workaround falls short on safety: In recent months, importers have fitted Chinese EVs with European-standard power connectors as a workaround, Zein said. While effective, the adapters come at a higher cost and don’t meet safety standards, he warned.

Some in the industry say a full ban isn’t the answer: Talk of banning imports of Chinese EVs over incompatible charging protocols “doesn’t make sense,” given that a large share of EVs in Egypt already use the Chinese GB/T standard, El Saba Automotive Chairman Alaa El Saba told EnterpriseAM. Some manufacturers have begun switching to the European CCS2 standard despite higher costs, undermining their price competitiveness, he added.

Prices could keep falling: EV prices have recently declined thanks to increased supply from both local assembly and imports, El Saba said. He expects further drops as competition heats up and profit margins narrow across the supply chain. “Consumers can now choose between dozens of models — something that wasn’t possible before,” he told us.

But this could change soon: The auto division has also received word of an upcoming decision to ban grey market and personal imports of EVs, Zein’s colleague Montasser Zaytoun told us, cautioning that removing independent importers from the market could ultimately push up EV prices.

New EV localization incentives in the works: The government has allocated EGP 5.2 bn to roll out fresh incentives for electric vehicle localization through expanded manufacturing, a government source told EnterpriseAM. The funding is part of a broader EGP 9.2 bn allocation this fiscal year for new auto manufacturing programs, including schemes targeting electric taxis, trucks, minibuses, and light commercial vehicles.

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