No subsidies for electric car charging stations? The Electricity Ministry will not subsidize electricity sold to recharge electric vehicles, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker is quoted as saying by the domestic press. To do so would only inflate the nation’s subsidy bill. The remarks come amid increasing industry interest in electric vehicles. The Trade Ministry’s Egyptian Organization for Quality and Standardization (EOS) is due to set the specification standards for the market before year-end as it is expecting more cars to hit the road in the coming period, EOS head Ashraf Afifi said. Electric vehicles may presently be imported to Egypt at 0% customs duties.

More companies seeing potential: Luxury automotive distributor MM Group for Industry and International Trade (MTI) is planning to start importing electric cars from Jaguar in 2Q2019, CEO Khaled Mahmoud said. Jaguar’s only electric vehicles are the models of its new I-PACE series. This makes company the latest to join a wave of manufacturers and distributors involved in the sub-sector. The local distributor of China’s Dongfeng cars, Dershal, says it aims to be the first to assemble the cars locally, while SMG Engineering Automotive and Revolta Egypt are both importing completely built-up units.