Cairo – The decision to organize the Electricity and Consumer Protection Authority in Egypt has sparked the abolition of the Chinese charging protocol used in the rapid charging stations of electric cars, in light of the increasing dependence on this type of car, especially through direct personal import from abroad in recent years.
In a surprising step, the exclusive reliance on the European CCS2 charging protocol, which prompted many to consider changing their current options of cars, in light of widespread questions about the extent to which the local market was affected by this decision, the number of shipping stations available in the governorates, and possible solutions to avoid the problems arising.
Challenges
The founder of the “EV HUB” application and member of the Electric Car Committee in the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Division says that the owners of the Chinese charging protocol “GB/T” GB/T will not be able to charge their cars in public stations, and will have to rely on home shipping, which takes a long time.
In an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, Latif indicated that some have already started searching for transformers that allow their cars to be charged through the European protocol “CSS2”, but the prices of these transformers range between 50 and 70 thousand Egyptian pounds, which is a large amount that is difficult for many to bear.
The impact of the decision
Latif believes that the decision raised consumer concerns, and some of them prompted to think about selling their cars or retracting the idea of buying an electric car at all, especially Chinese cars that depend on the canceled protocol, which negatively reflects on the volume of sales.
He pointed out that some solutions began to appear on the market, such as resorting to reliable shipping transformers, warning that the use of uninterrupted transformers may cause the battery or parts of the car.
He pointed out that home shipping can be a temporary solution, as it provides a good functioning if the car is shipped during the night, but it remains an inaccurate option in the long run.
Latif revealed efforts made by parties such as the Cairo Chamber of Commerce to reach a compromise, such as granting a period of grace or providing technical support to the categories affected by the decision.
Encouragement privileges
For his part, Mahmoud Musayer, a specialist in maintenance of electric cars, explains that the adoption of electric cars began in Egypt since 2018, when the state decided to allow it to be imported, whether for individuals or for commercial use, and gave it a set of privileges.
Among the privileges, complete customs exemption, in addition to undergoing value -added tax only by 14%, also highlights electric cars with easy treatment in the annual license that does not exceed 500 Egyptian pounds, which encouraged thousands of Egyptians to acquire this type of car.
Shipping protocols
Regarding the decision to cancel the Chinese shipping protocol, nails show that there are 3 main types of globally approved freight protocols:
CCS2 (CCS2). The American CCS1 (CCS1). The Chinese “GB” (GB), which makes this decision normal and expected, and has already been taken by other Arab countries.
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, Nails assert that the decision did not change from the reality of the market significantly, but its effects were dealt with quickly, explaining that the shipping transformers have become available, which reduced the repercussions of the decision, and that there is an increasing demand for electric cars despite everything.
He pointed out that the Egyptian market is growing steadily in this field, thanks to the presence of Egyptian competencies capable of dealing with technical and logistical challenges, stressing that the citizens did not retreat from going towards Chinese electric cars.
Wide charging network
And on the infrastructure of the shipping stations, nails say that Egypt is working to accelerate the construction of the necessary infrastructure, in parallel with efforts to revive the name of “Al -Nasr” company as a national project to produce electric cars locally.
The nails of the number of electric cars in Egypt are estimated at more than 11 thousand and 500 vehicles, of which about 8,000 cars are from Chinese origin, and nearly 3,500 European and American cars, while the shipping stations, their number exceeded 3000 points distributed over all governorates of the Republic.
The spokesman concludes that the Egyptian market is witnessing a state of continuous expansion, supported by clear government trends towards the transformation of clean energy, despite the technical obstacles facing consumers from time to time.
According to experts, although the electric cars market in Egypt is still running a calculated line, as each electric car meets more than 70 traditional cars, the decision may contribute to stopping a boom in the market recently, which is to increase the licenses of this type of cars last year by 189.3%, to reach 6883 cars compared to 3279 cars in the corresponding period from 2023, according to the data issued by the Egyptian compound for compulsory insurance for vehicles.
