The foreign currency crisis has affected the sale of private cars made by the American brand Chevrolet.
Chevrolet has witnessed a 44% total sales decrease, registering 3,945 cars sold in the first four months of 2016 compared to 7,103 during the same period last year.
The sales included five models: New Optra, Cruze, Lanos, Aveo, and GP52.
Although the total sales of the American brand declined, the New Optra saw a 95% increase in sales, registering 1,235 sold units compared to 633 units during the same period last year. This increase managed to reduce the total decline in Chevrolet sales.
Cruze sales jumped by 213%, occupying the second highest sales for Chevrolet, selling 1,218 units compared to 389 units in the first four months of 2015.
Lanos came in third place with 702 cars sold in four months, registering a historic decline of 76% compared to the 2,902 cars sold in the same period of 2015.
The sales of Aveo fell by 80%. The model’s sales reached only 624 units since the beginning of this year compared to 3,168 units in the first four months of last year.
The GP52 was ranked last, with the sale of only 166 units in April, with no sales recorded during the first quarter (Q1).
Chevrolet increased the price of its Optra model by EGP 3,900 earlier this month. It also raised the price of Aveo by EGP 12,500, Cruze by EGP 7,000, and both Lanos and N300 by EGP 11,000.
The decline of the Egyptian pound against foreign currencies influenced the sales of passenger cars by Chevrolet during Q1 2016, recording a total 3,192 units sold—a decline of 41% compared to Q1 2015 when 5,453 cars were sold.
Sales included four models: New Optra, Cruze, Lanos, and Aveo. The New Optra sold 1,200 units, a 254% leap in sales compared to Q1 2015.
Cruze’s sales ranked second with 947 units sold, marking a 236% increase. The Lanos followed with recorded sales of 535 units in Q1, marking a 77% decline compared to 2,320 cars sold during Q1 2015. Aveo sales dropped by 80%, a first since its launch in the local market, selling only 510 units compared to 2,501 units in Q1 2015.
In early May, Chevrolet increased the price of its Optra model by EGP 8,000 and reduced the price of N300 by EGP 7,800, whereas the prices of Aveo, Lanos, and Cruze remained the same.
