Egypt Launches First Smart Electric Bus Route

Egypt’s Arab Organisation for Industrialisation has started running on Monday the first electric bus route in cooperation with China’s Wanxiang Group Corporation and Egypt’s Transport Company Mowasalat Masr, local media reports.

The first route will link Maadi to the Fifth Settlement, and passengers will be able to pay their fares using prepaid smart cards scanned by a machine.

The launching ceremony was attended by Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmin Fouad alongside representatives from Shanghai Wanxiang, Mowasalat Masr, United Investment Company, and the Public Transport Authority.

The Military Production Ministry signed an agreement earlier in May with Beijing-based automotive company Foton Motor to manufacture 2,000 electric buses in Egypt over the next four years. The vehicles will be assembled by a production plant owned by the Egyptian military; 45% of the components will be sourced in Egypt.

Earlier in May, The Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) has signed an MoU with Chinese electric bus manufacturer Shanghai Wanxiang Automotive Co to set up a JV to begin producing electric buses in Egypt.

Wu Wei, General Manager of Chinese company Wanxiang, one of the leading companies for the manufacturing of electric buses, said that cooperation between Cairo and Beijing will witness a strategic transformation to support the transfer and localization of technology and deepen the domestic manufacturing of electric buses, Al Shorouk reports.

Egypt’s first electric vehicle charging station was opened in Cairo in February. The unit is owned by Revolta Egypt, a developer of electric charging infrastructure and other electric vehicle-related projects.

Egypt is planning to increase its reliance on renewable energy to 22 percent by 2020.