Egyptian multinational conglomerate Mansour Group has signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. automotive company General Motors to study the joint manufacturing of electric vehicles in Egypt.
The agreement was signed by GM and Al Mansour Automotive Co, a subsidiary of Mansour Group. Mansour Group is an Egyptian multinational conglomerate with operations across the globe.
Under Egyptian billionaire businessman Mohammed Mansour, the Egypt-based conglomerate has grown into one of the leading groups in Egypt. Its subsidiary Al Mansour Automotive Co operates as the largest GM dealer in the world and the fifth-largest distributor of Caterpillar Inc.
The partnership with GM, which aligns with Egypt’s plans to localize automotive manufacturing, will see the government provide support to drive the manufacturing of EVs as the world moves to replace internal combustion engine-powered vehicles.
Mansour explained that under the memorandum signed this week, the two companies will study production requirements, volumes and incentives that might be required from the government.
“We will start with a team and hopefully within the next two to three months come up with a concrete study to present to the Egyptian government,” Mansour said.
“Government support of some kind, to see how we can work together. That will be a new capital investment that we make on our side, and of course hopefully using Egypt as a hub to export to Africa,” he added.
In a statement on the agreement, GM International President Steve Kiefer said the Mansour partnership is key to the U.S. automaker’s global growth strategy.
The partnership comes after the Egyptian Public Enterprise Ministry stated last month that the government was prepared to pay a subsidy of EGP50,000 ($3,190) to buyers of locally made EVs.
The government also announced plans to build a network of 3,000 charging stations in Cairo and Alexandria over the next two years.
