Egypt agrees to manufacture electric buses and export them to Europe

Egypt signed a joint manufacturing agreement with Sweden to manufacture electric buses for export to Europe, in cooperation between the Egyptian Transportation Industry Company (MCV) and Volvo.

Today, Tuesday, September 5 (2023), the Minister of Trade and Industry, Engineer Ahmed Samir, witnessed the signing of the joint manufacturing agreement between the two companies, with the Swedish Minister of International Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell, according to a statement, a copy of which was obtained by the Specialized Energy Platform.

The agreement between Egypt and Sweden aims to manufacture electric buses for export to the European market, with a local component of 50%, in cooperation between the Egyptian MCV and Swedish Volvo, according to a statement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Manufacturing electric buses in Egypt

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Engineer Ahmed Samir, said during the agreement signing activities that the agreement aims to enhance joint cooperation between the two companies, in order to nationalize transportation industries in Cairo, including the manufacture of environmentally friendly electric buses, and to increase the volume of investments in them during the next stage.

Engineer Ahmed Samir explained that the agreement is one of the most important fruits of the ministry’s delegation’s visit to Sweden, last March 2023, during which meetings were held with Swedish companies, including Volvo, in addition to a meeting with the Minister of International Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell, and a large number of government officials. Stockholm.

He pointed out that during this visit, which included participation in the activities of the joint Egyptian-Swedish business forum, Egypt invited Swedish companies to pump investments into Cairo to benefit from the great advantages offered by investment in its markets, according to statements reviewed by the specialized energy platform.

Increase economic cooperation

The minister stressed his country's keenness to increase economic cooperation with Sweden during the coming period, and its aspiration for more of this cooperation at the investment and industrial levels, pointing out that the ministry is sparing no effort to provide support to international car companies for production and expansion in the Egyptian market.

He pointed out that the Ministry of Trade and Industry attaches utmost importance to the manufacture of electric cars and public transportation, in order to meet the requirements and needs of local consumers during the current and future phase, and to be compatible with global trends towards creating environmentally friendly vehicles.

He added: "We are keen to transfer global technologies and expertise to the local industry and move towards the use of clean energy in public and private transportation, as the government is working to create the appropriate environment for the transition towards clean energy, by providing the necessary infrastructure for charging electric cars."

He continued: "Egypt possesses many great capabilities and components that contribute to the localization of the manufacture of electric buses and cars, to meet the needs of the local market and export to regional markets and the markets of countries in the continent of Africa and Europe."

A new chapter in Volvo history

In turn, Swedish Minister of International Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell said that his country is happy to launch this joint project between the Egyptian and Swedish companies to manufacture electric buses, which represents a new chapter in the history of Volvo in Cairo, as a major partner of MCV.