First Automobile Works (FAW), China's third largest carmaker, is to relocate production of its "Bestune NAT" electric vehicle model to Egypt by 2025. This is part of an agreement signed with the Egyptian company GV Auto.
Egypt wants to become a regional hub for the manufacture and export of electric vehicles. An agreement has just been signed between GV Auto, a subsidiary of the GV Investments group, and the Chinese manufacturer First Automobile Works (FAW), one of China’s largest automakers behind BYD, Changan, Chery and Geely. The agreement covers the local manufacture of one of FAW’s electric vehicle models from 2025.
This is the “Bestune NAT”, formerly the Bestune EO5, which is widely used in Asia and the West, particularly in the VTC (chauffeur-driven transport) sector. Its price in China is close to $18,000. This relocation of production to Egypt should enable the selling price to be revised downwards.
The other objective is to develop cooperation in the automotive sector, particularly between North Africa and other regions (sub-Saharan Africa) and continents (Europe and Latin America) where these cars will be exported. This is an imperative, given that “production capacity for electric vehicles will increase over the next three to five years, and the aim is to eventually produce cars in which 65% of the components are locally sourced”, explains Sherif Hamouda, CEO of GV Investments.
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The group is expected to invest up to $20 million in this project. Similar initiatives are under way in Egypt. Two years ago, the multinational group resulting from the merger of PSA Peugeot Citroën and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced that it was going to build a $35 million factory to manufacture and export electric vehicles in the land of the pharaohs by 2025. A lucrative market that ultimately aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
