Egypt: Cautious optimism for auto industry

With a large domestic market and a substantial local manufacturing base, Egypt’s auto retail sector is one of the largest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Sales have been hit by the recent political instability and economic slowdown, but pent-up demand is expected to help the recovery accelerate from its currently sluggish pace. This will have a knock-on effect for the manufacturing sector, which is gearing up for resurgence.

Overall vehicle sales were up 4.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in May, the local press reported on June 26. Some 15,465 units were sold, two-thirds of them passenger cars, according to the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC). An uptick in sales of commercial vehicles – trucks and buses – was the main growth driver. While passenger car sales totalled 10,758, down 3.8% on May 2011, bus sales rose 30.7% to 1358 units and truck sales increased by 29.6% to 3340 units.

The passenger car market is led by GB Auto, which had a 34% market share in the first five months of the year. The biggest independent carmaker in the Middle East, GB manufactures, assembles, imports and distributes vehicles for international firms, including Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Volvo and Mazda.