Local assembly grew in 2025, but still lagged behind imported vehicle sales

The automotive market staged a significant recovery in 2025, with total sales up 69.9% y-o-y to 173.8 k units, according to figures from the Automotive Marketing Information Council (Amic) seen by EnterpriseAM. The rebound after a punishing two-year slump was driven by a 53.6% increase in bus sales, a 64.4% increase in passenger car sales, and a notable 108.4% increase in truck sales — signaling that corporate Egypt is finally moving to replace aging fleets.

While it was certainly a good year for the market, it was a reality check that our auto localization efforts still have a long way to go. With many of the projects to expand local assembly announced over previous months and years yet to start rolling out vehicles from the factory floor, the growth in auto demand was mostly captured by vehicles imported whole.

Sales of vehicles imported whole rose 12.1 percentage points faster than those assembled locally, with completely-built-up vehicles registering a 77.1% y-o-y growth in sales, while completely knocked-down vehicles clocked in a 65.0% y-o-y increase. But on the plus side, a 65.0% y-o-y increase in sales is still something to note, and hopefully, the total yearly growth in sales is a decent sign to automakers looking to set up shop that there’s a local market looking to buy.