Mansour, General Motors study manufacturing of electric cars in Egypt

CAIRO - 2 December 2021: General Motors and Mansour Motors have agreed to study the joint manufacturing of electric cars in Egypt, according to Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mansour Motors, Mohamed Mansour.

Mansour said that according to a memorandum signed on Wednesday, the two companies will study production requirements and volumes and the incentives they may need from the government, without specifying what form those incentives may take, according to Reuters.

"Sort of a government support, let's see how we can work together... That will be a new capital investment that we do on our part, and of course we hope to use Egypt as an export hub to Africa," he said.

"We will start with a team, and we hope, within the next two or three months, a concrete study to be submitted to the Egyptian government,” he added.

In a related context, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stressed, during his meeting with Mohamed Mansour, Chairman of the Mansour Group, and Steve Kiefer, President of General Motors International, the great importance the government attaches to the localization of the auto industry.

Madbouly pointed out that the Egyptian government is preparing to launch the "Automotive Industry Strategy in Egypt" and announce it before the end of this year, in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, on the importance of preparing an integrated strategy to localize the auto industry and its feeding industries, and work on transferring advanced technology to the largest possible percentage. of local components, which supports this industry, and contributes to attracting more investments in this important and vital sector.

For his part, Steve Kiefer, President of General Motors International, confirmed during his meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, the company's intention to expand in the Egyptian market significantly during the coming period, as well as its aspiration to share the best practices that it monitored from its experiences in 60 markets. He differed with the Egyptian government to support its policies in implementing "green transport".

He added that the company is on its way to producing several types of electric cars by 2025, and will choose the appropriate electric car model and specifications that it will present and manufacture in the Egyptian market, pointing out its intention to increase its global investments by about $35 billion until 2025, to become a leader in the vehicle market. Electric vehicles, self-driving cars, and the development of car battery management technology, among others.

It is noteworthy that the negotiations for Nasr cars - affiliated with the public business sector - to produce electric cars with the Chinese Dongfeng Company stopped due to the lack of agreement to reduce the price of the imported component, according to the Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector.

In its statement, the ministry stated that the two companies were unable to agree to reduce the price of the main imported component sufficiently to enable Al-Nasr Automotive Company to produce the car and offer it at a competitive price, which resulted in the negotiations stalling.

Al-Nasr Automotive Company signed two contracts with the Chinese company last January to assemble electric cars locally, and to rehabilitate its factory through a subsidiary of the Chinese group.