Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea has held an expanded meeting with representatives from Egypt's Geyushi Motors and China's Zhengzhou Yutong Bus company. The meeting reviewed the plans to expand bus production in Egypt, and reviewed Yutong's local project for the production of buses and minibuses, which was established in cooperation with Geyushi Motors. It also looked at the new expansions that the Chinese company intends to launch in Egypt during the coming period, which will focus on producing natural gas-powered buses and minibuses. Gamea reiterated the Egyptian Government's keenness to provide all aspects of support for various international companies to invest in Egypt, and transfer technologies and global expertise to the domestic industry. The minister noted that the Egyptian state's current trend aims to shift towards the use of clean energy in mass and private transport. This will take place through efforts to replace older petrol-powered vehicles to those that work with natural gas, in parallel with the localisation of electric powered vehicles. She pointed out that the state is currently working on creating an appropriate environment for a shift towards clean energy in the transportation sector. It will occur by providing the necessary infrastructure to supply cars that operate with natural gas and electricity. Peng Zhao, Chief Transaction Officer at Yutong, said that the company is one of the most important companies in China operating in bus and minibus manufacturing. It has acquired about 40% of the Chinese market and 13% of the country's bus and minibus exports to global markets. Zhao added that the company produces about 60,000-70,000 buses and minibuses annually, of which it exports about 10,000. He stressed that his company is keen on transferring expertise and advanced technologies to Egyptian industry, to help localise buses and minibuses industry by increasing the proportions of local components. Mohy El Din Geyushi, Chairperson of Geyushi Motors, said that Yutong's presence in the Egyptian market represents an excellent opportunity to localise the bus and minibus industry and transfer technologies. It would also ensure the transfer of global experiences used in this regard. Geyushi added that the ratios of local component in the company's Egyptian market projects currently stands at about 65%, and aims to reach 80% during the coming period. Yutong's factory, which is located in 10th of Ramadan and run in cooperation with Geyushi Motors, produces about 3,000 buses annually and provides about 500 job opportunities. The factory is currently starting to produce buses that run on natural gas, to meet the needs of the local market, Geyushi concluded.
