CHICAGO -- Two Middle Eastern countries are setting end dates for the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles.
Egypt plans to ban new sales of gasoline-powered vehicles beginning in 2040, according to Egypt Today. The parliamentary Energy and Environment Committee is starting to discuss how to transition all cars to electric vehicles (EVs).
Husseini al-Far, a member of the country’s electricity distribution sector, said Egypt is following in the footsteps of countries such as Denmark, Great Britain and France in announcing bans of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles and shifts to EVs.
“However, we still need more legislations on customs, tax and solar energy stations,” Far told Egypt Today. Egypt this year began allowing the import of used EVs, but the country also wants to encourage the domestic manufacture of EVs.
Israel announced earlier this year plans to ban new gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicle sales after 2030. In October, the country’s Energy Ministry introduced a plan to transition to EVs and natural-gas vehicles (NGVs), Reuters reported. Israel recently discovered large deposits of natural gas, which is boosting its interest in NGVs.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said it would be challenging to develop that first “critical mass” of alternative-fueled vehicles to help move the country away from gasoline and diesel.
“We are already encouraging [EV use] by funding charging stations, more than 2,000 new charging stations around the country,” Steinitz told Reuters. Israel’s government also plans to “reduce taxation on electric cars to almost zero, so they are going to be much cheaper,” he said.
By 2025, Israel expects to have about 177,000 EVs on the road—compared to “just a few dozen” today, Reuters reported. The Energy Ministry expects the number of EVs to swell to 1.5 million by 2030.
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