Europe is getting Egyptian electric buses: Egypt’s vehicle manufacturer Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) has signed an agreement with Sweden’s carmaker Volvo to manufacture electric buses for export to Europe, according to a statement. The statement did not reveal the size of the investments being pumped into the project or the timeline for the planned production and export.

What we know: The zero-emission buses will have a local component percentage of 50%, the statement notes. The agreement comes under an ongoing partnership between MCV and Volvo that began over 20 years ago to manufacture buses for the British market, Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir said in the statement.

All under a push for clean mobility: Egypt is keen on moving towards the use of clean energy in mass and private transportation by converting vehicles to run on natural gas and electric power, Samir said. He said the government is also working on creating the right environment for a clean energy transition by providing the necessary charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Egypt has the potential to localize electric vehicles and buses to meet local demand and exports to regional markets and Africa, he said.

REMEMBER- The country’s EV ambitions are high: While Egypt’s EV industry is still nascent, two auto firms and distributors — Misr Helwan Automotive and Abou Ghaly Motors — introduced EVs to the country’s car market this year. 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.

Expect more to come: India’s Hinduja Group is expected to sign a final agreement with Egypt to support local EV manufacturing in the country by the end of 4Q 2023, an informed source at Egypt’s Trade and Industry Ministry’s Trade Representation told Enterprise Climate last month. Hinduja will pour USD 500 mn as a potential investor in Egypt’s state-owned El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company under a bid to manufacture EVs in the country and turn Egypt into a regional hub for EV manufacturing, the source said, adding that some legal procedures are currently being finalized ahead of signing the contract. The signing would come months after Hinduja representatives visited Egypt in May for talks on setting up a project to manufacture EVs and spare parts.