Several car dealerships kept their prices unchanged from July to August, despite the turmoil that hit the automotive market when the US dollar exchange rate rose above EGP 13.
Other companies chose to temporarily raise their prices. Distributors and traders also raised the prices to counter the increasing cost of imports.
Chairperson of El-Saba Automotive and member of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, Alaa El-Saba, said that the US dollar shortage has forced many companies to suspend their sales, due to the difficulties with setting new prices in light of the rising exchange rate.
He added that operating automotive companies which have raised their prices are selling at “guessed prices”. However, even the price increase may not be enough—especially since the US dollar has gone up by 18% against the Egyptian pound.
El-Saba explained that companies are reconsidering their pricing. Some prices went up by 2-3%, while the increase of the US dollar exchange rate reached 15% in a matter of days. “A fair increase should exceed 10% of the current car prices,” he noted.
However, car companies are not to blame, as “import costs force them to do so”, he explained.
A wave of price hikes has flooded the market, with more than 80 models of different brands being sold at elevated prices. In July, the prices registered record highs amid rumours of an upcoming depreciation of the Egyptian pound’s value against the US dollar.
The automotive market has seen price leaps over the past few months, driven by the shortage of hard currency required for importing, and the high exchange rate on the informal market.
Daily News Egypt toured the market to observe the new price increases in August across European, Korean, American, Chinese, Japanese, and Malaysian cars.
Chevrolet adds EGP 8,000 to the price of Cruze
A tour across car brands of American origin showed that prices have increased in August so far. Chevrolet put EGP 8,000 on the price of Cruze to register a total price of EGP 185,000 for its first class model.
Both Ford and Jeep kept their prices unchanged from July.
A tour last month showed that prices have increased in July. Chevrolet had put EGP 4,000 on top of the original Cruze offering price, recording EGP 177,000. Ford had kept its prices unchanged from July. The price of Jeep Renegade had increased by EGP 15,000 in July, reaching EGP 280,000.
Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan drive the Japanese hike
A tour around the Japanese automotive market in Egypt showed that Mitsubishi raised the price of its first class Lancer to EGP 163,000. It also increased the price tag on Attrage by EGP 8,000.
Subaru raised the price of XV by EGP 5,000 to register EGP 265,000.
Nissan added EGP 2,000 to the price of its Sunny Super Saloon, reaching a total cost of EGP 142,000. The price of Sentra went up by EGP 8,000 to register EGP 165,000 for the first class, and another EGP 4,500 was added to the full options model, amounting to EGP 172,000.
Suzuki also added EGP 1,000 to the price of Swift to reach EGP 155,000. The carmaker kept its July prices for all other models.
Toyota, Daihatsu, Honda, and Mazda have all kept their June and July prices.
An earlier tour of the Japanese automotive market in Egypt in July showed that Mitsubishi raised the price of Lancer EX by EGP 4,000. It also added EGP 9,000 to the car’s full option class to reach EGP 175,000.
Subaru raised the price of its XV model to EGP 260,000, while Honda added EGP 23,000 to the price tag of Civic, to read EGP 295,000.
Mazda approved raising the price of Mazda 3, as the first class model registered EGP 245,000. Mazda 2 witnessed a limited EGP 500 increase and is now sold at EGP 192,000.
Toyota, Daihatsu, Nissan, and Suzuki have all kept their June prices.
Brilliance raises prices of V5, H330
As for Chinese models, Brilliance raised the price of V5 by EGP 11,000, to reach EGP 186,000, and H330 by EGP 10,000, recording EGP 135,000.
Geely added EGP 500 to its Emgrand 7, registering a new price of EGP 112,000. The company kept its July prices for the rest of its models.
Chery kept the prices of Envy and Tiggo unchanged from July.
Geely had decided to raise the price of Pandino by EGP 4,000. The first class model with manual transmission was sold for EGP 89,000 in July, while the automatic model was sold at EGP 101,000.
The price of X Pandino went up by EGP 4,000 to register EGP 111,000.
Meanwhile, Chery raised the price of Envy and Tiggo to record EGP 101,000 and EGP 157,000 respectively.
Brilliance kept the prices unchanged from June to July.
Prices of 33 European models climb, including Opel Mokka, Volvo S60
Daily News Egypt spotted an increase in the prices of Opel, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Seat, Fiat, Renault, Volvo, Peugeot, Citroen, Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, and Mini in August.
Price lists showed that Opel raised the prices of Mokka by EGP 30,000 to reach EGP 290,000. Volvo raised the price of S60 by EGP 40,000, recording a new total of EGP 458,000.
Citroen raised the price of C4 by EGP 14,000, making the total cost EGP 218,000. C4 Picasso and C4 Grand Picasso went up by EGP 9,000 each.
On the other hand, Fiat lowered the price of 500X by EGP 3,000 down to EGP 265,000.
Renault raised the price of Duster, Fluence, Sandero, Megan, and Logan by EGP 2,000 each. The price of Sandero Stepway increased by EGP 6,000 to reach EGP 160,000.
Audi raised the price of A3 by EGP 80,000 to reach EGP 395,000. It also added EGP 84,000 to the price of A4. The Q series witnessed a series of price hikes, as EGP 160,000 was added to the Q7, reaching EGP 1.54m; EGP 140,000 to the Q6 and Q5; and EGP 80,000 to the Q3, recording EGP 470,000.
Volkswagen increased the price of Passat by EGP 26,000 to reach EGP 315,000.
Peugeot, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Skoda, and Seat have all kept their price unchanged in July.
When Daily News Egypt toured the market last month, it observed that Opel had raised the price of Astra to EGP 222,000 for the first class. It had also added EGP 20,000 on the price of Cascada to record EGP 430,000. The price of Insignia had been raised by EGP 20,000 to hit EGP 320,000. The carmaker had also put EGP 10,000 on the price of Adam to register EGP 200,000, and EGP 25,000 on the price of Meriva to mark EGP 225,000.
Fiat had raised the price of 500X first class Popstar by EGP 20,000, reaching EGP 267,900. Renault on the other hand, lowered the price of Stepway by EGP 3,000.
Seat had lifted the price of Leon by EGP 9,900 to register EGP 197,900.
BMW had increased the price of all 37 models, with price augmentations ranging from EGP 15,000 to EGP 100,000.
Peugeot, Jaguar, Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Citroen, Skoda, Audi, and Volkswagen have maintained their June prices.
Kia, Hyundai keep steady as distributors pose higher prices
Kia and Hyundai decided to keep their July prices, while distributors announced that sales and pricing are suspended until the US dollar exchange rate stabilises.
Kia had previously raised the price of Carens by EGP 23,100, boosting the price tag on its first class to EGP 259,000. The price of the New Cerato increased by EGP 5,000 to register EGP 200,000, and EGP 29,000 were added to the Sportage, to record EGP 319,000. Meanwhile, the price of Soul was cut by EGP 5,000.
Hyundai lowered the price of the 2017 Verna with manual transmission by EGP 2,000, and the automatic transmission by EGP 2,500. It added EGP 1,500 to the price of the 2016 manual Verna to register EGP 104,000. The model’s automatic category was also raised by EGP 1,000 to reach EGP 121,500.
Hyundai also increased the price of Elantra Ad by EGP 1,000 to hit EGP 199,000, Elantra MD by EGP 2,000 to register EGP 185,000, and Elantra HD by EGP 1,000 to record EGP 159,000.
The price of Accent was lifted by EGP 1,500, Solaris by EGP 11,000, Tucson by EGP 24,000, and Creta by EGP 3,000 to register EGP 214,000.
Gen 2, Persona sold at EGP 153,900
The Malaysian carmaker Proton kept the prices of both models Gen 2 and Persona unchanged from July at EGP 153,900 for the first class of both models, and EGP 159,900 for the second class. The company also introduced the new model Preve at EGP 200,000.
Proton had raised the prices of Gen 2 and Persona by EGP 31,000 in June.
