Egypt’s Raya Auto to locally assemble China’s XPeng EVs within 3 years

More EVs incoming: Raya Holding’s automotive unit Raya Auto has become thecountry’s sole agent for Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng and will bring three of its models to the Egyptian market throughout the year, Raya Auto said in a statement (pdf).

Chinese EVs, made in Egypt is part of the plan:Raya plans to invest EGP 500 mn in its partnership with the Chinese EV manufacturer and plans to start assembling XPeng EVs within the coming three years,Raya Holding Chairman Medhat Khalil said. But before this, Raya Auto will bring XPeng’s P7i, G6, and G9 models to the market during the first half of the year — importing and distributing the cars and providing after-sale services, Raya Auto CEO Mohamed El Naggar said during a presser attended by Enterprise.

Raya has been eying EV production for some time now, first announcing plans to invest EGP 200 mn in local EV assembly in 2020.

Where’s the money coming from? Raya Holding is planning a EGP 250 mn capital increase for Raya Auto to fund half of the project with the Chinese automaker, while the remaining 50% will be secured through credit facilities, Raya Holding Group CFO Hossam Hussein told Al Borsa.