It’s been a big couple of days for the EV industry in our corner of the world, and recent policy developments in Europe suggest MENA’s electric future could be accelerated.

Turkey revealed its first locally-produced electric car on Saturday as part of its efforts to position itself as a key regional automotive producer, according to Bloomberg. Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (Togg) — a local joint venture set up in 2018 — plans to launch five models by the end of the decade, with a C-segment SUV the first to go on sale at the end of 3Q 2023.

By the numbers: The new EV will have 65% of its parts locally-manufactured by 2025, up from an initial 51%. Some 1 mn cars are expected to have rolled off the production lines by the end of the decade, with the project contributing USD 50 bn to the economy over the next 15 years.

This is what Egypt is aspiring to: Egyptian officials have been trying for years to get a foreign car manufacturer on board to help state-owned El Nasr Automotive produce an Egyptian EV. Following the collapse of talks with Dongfeng last year, the government has been negotiating with BAIC Group though a final agreement is yet to materialize.

MEANWHILE- 80% of all electric vehicles produced by US-based EV manufacturer Lucid Motors will be made in Saudi Arabia by 2030, Lucid’s Vice President for MENA, Faisal Sultan, told Bloomberg Asharq last week.

An ambitious target: The company plans to produce 155k EVs yearly in Saudi Arabia once full-fledged production capacity is achieved by 2025, Sultan said.

BACKGROUND- Lucid and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in February to build a full production plant in the country that could potentially earn the EV manufacturer USD 3.4 bn over 15 years. Construction of the facility began in May. Lucid Motors recently signed an MoU with KSA’s Human Resources Development Fund to upskill more than 1k Saudis working in the EV manufacturing industry.

The EU voted to ban the sale of new combustion vehicles and mandated carmakers cut 100% of CO2 emissions by 2035, the European Commission said in a press release on Friday. The standards will require average emissions of new cars cut by 55% and new vans by 50% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Manufacturers producing smaller fleets of less than 10k cars and 22k vans annually have lower initial targets, although all manufacturers are expected to reach the final target by 2035. The EU will draft a proposal on how to allow cars running on CO2 neutral fuels to be sold after 2035.

This is the first step in the adoption of the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package: The package is a set of proposals to ensure that policies enable the EU to reach its climate goal of reducing the bloc’s emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The bloc is also working on legislation to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. Achieving the emission reductions is part of a plan to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Not on board: The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), which called the decision “far-reaching” and “without precedent,” in a statement. ACEA, an association of Europe’s top 16 vehicle manufacturers, stressed the need for the EU to work on enabling conditions to make the transition including providing ample renewable energy, a robust private and public charging infrastructure network, and access to raw materials. ACEA President and CEO of BMW also stressed the need to address emissions from existing fleets in order to ensure affordability for car-owners.