While this may come as a surprise to most of us, the idea or concept of an electric vehicle is not as new or recent as many of you would probably imagine.
It actually dates back to 1828 when Hungarian inventor Ányos Jedlik developed a motor using an electric current from a battery, but it was used to power an electric train though, not a car. Fast forward 4 years later and in 1832 the same concept was applied to power a car, but the full charge would only allow it to travel 12 miles.
Such a limitation though deemed it completely impractical especially when compared to the capabilities of its regular fuel powered counterpart and so, it was never mass produced until much later.
It was not before the late 1990s and 2000’s in fact that electric cars started to gain some leverage in the global car market, especially with names like Tesla entering the scene in 2006 and promising to produce luxury models that can go toe to toe with the biggest global car manufacturers.
This was made possible due to the fact that Technological advancements at the time have made it possible for electric cars to compete with regular cars in terms of performance and capability in addition to the steady growth of global awareness on preserving the environment and green energy production.
The Electric car in Egypt
Now let us take a look at the electric car situation in Egypt in particular. Until recently, electric cars were not really a very big topic of conversation within the Egyptian car market.
It was (and still is) a new concept to Egyptian car consumers and so, would not exactly be classified as a popular choice as of yet. The latest statistics actually reveal that less than 1000 electric cars currently roam the Egyptian streets. A very stale figure when compared to the number of Egyptian car owners.
Additionally, Electric cars in Egypt are relatively more expensive than their fuel powered alternative (in an already highly inflated market) and so, this is a major turn off for potential buyers. The reason for the difference in price is mainly due to the lack of local manufacturers for electric cars.
A look into the potential future
This situation may however significantly change in the relative near future. It was officially announced during the “World Youth Forum” which took place at Sharm El Shiekh that the first Egyptian electric car can be expected to be produced by 2023.
This Electric car is rumored to be called either E70 or A70 and would sell for the equivalent of around $20,000 (price is of course a speculation at the point of writing this article and may change according to market fluctuations and/or world events).
To ensure Egypt is ready to accommodate this model (as well as generally electric cars from other manufacturers), there are of course plans to have charging points placed throughout the country in a manner similar to that of regular fuel/gas stations. The first phase involves around 3000 stations spread across the cities of Cairo and Alexandria with future plans to expand into other governates.
These initiatives came hand in hand with Egypt recently hosting the COP27 summit (also in Sharm ElShiekh) thus further emphasizing the message of focusing on green energy production.
Fresh Business Opportunities
The introduction of electric cars in the Egyptian market can only spell good news for the introduction of new industries and business segments such as battery swapping stations, charging stations…etc in addition of course to battery manufacturers and motor manufacturers.
In fact, there is talk that the Egyptian government is already in the process of signing MoUs with international companies for battery and motor technology in efforts to assist in developing the aforementioned Egyptian electric car.
Finally, more and more countries are setting new rules to limit carbon emissions and that can only spell good news for electric cars as a concept.
Final Verdict
The situation however is still relatively unclear as of yet and the picture will definitely become clearer as more official announcements are released to the public. Having said that, the future seems relatively promising for the electric car in Egypt but it is not yet clear how distant that future may be.
