The Finance Ministry could expand its automotive natgas transition scheme to allow more vehicle owners and more governorates to participate, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a statement on Friday. The ministry is considering opening it up to new governorates as soon as they have the required infrastructure, while new companies will be allowed to join, provided that their vehicles meet the minimum local component requirement of 45%. As things stand now, vehicle owners in seven governorates can sign up to the program, and companies including Toyota, VW, Foton and Joylong are on board, with talks ongoing with Jinbei and Brilliance.

The rules have already been eased once: In March, the government began allowing motorists who have owned their vehicles for two years to apply to the scheme, down from three years previously. Those who have already submitted requests through the government platform to swap out their cars will also be able to amend the details of their applications and change the model, make, or color of their requested vehicle.

Some 40k people have so far met the conditions of the program and have been contacted by the ministry, compared to 30k in early April. As of last month, a total of 70k citizens had applied for the scheme.

Background. Egypt plans to swap out an overall 1.8 mn cars over the course of a decade — a move that is expected to cost some EGP 320 bn. The government plans to convert 450k cars to run on natural gas within the upcoming three years. Over 340 dual-fuel cars were delivered during April, including a first batch of around 30 vehicles. Some EGP 2 bn in incentives will be paid out during FY2021-2022 fiscal year to encourage car owners to take part in the state’s natgas transition plan.

OTHER AUTOMOTIVE NEWS- Vehicle owners with auto loans will be able to renew their existing car license, obtain a new one, as well as lift the sale ban on their vehicles online as of today under a new Central Bank of Egypt directive, local press reported. The move aims to do away with paper transactions and facilitate easier procedures for car owners, and comes as a result of the signing of an MoU between the CBE and the Egyptian Credit Bureau (I Score). The CBE launched in 2019 an electronic database for vehicles bought using bank loans with I Score, allowing debtors to complete procedures such as license renewal.