The future of automotive sales in Egypt is in flux. Sources from the automotive industry have said that price hikes will continue throughout November, exacerbated by the US dollar shortage and the recent flotation of the Egyptian pound, which nearly doubled the value of the dollar. As a result, some automotive companies have suspended sales in Egypt.
Kia has raised their prices twice in a week. The Kia Carens base model price has been raised to EGP 415,900, an increase of EGP 21,000. The company also increased the price of the New Cerato by EGP 79,000, settling at EGP 309,900. The Rio’s price tag has jumped by EGP 24,400 to settle at EGP 297,900 and the Picanto’s by EGP 15,000, with a new base model price of EGP 215,000.
Other Kia models such as the Soul have had their base model price increased by EGP 30,000 to stand at EGP 360,000, while the Sportage has become EGP 20,000 more expensive, settling at EGP 440,000. The Kia Cee’d, currently at EGP 335,000, increased its price by EGP 17,000.
Kia raised its prices shortly after the Central Bank of Egypt decided to float the pound, increasing the price of the Carens by EGP 59,500, bringing the cost of a base model to EGP 395,500. The price of the New Cerato’s base model jumped by a staggering EGP 59,500, settling at EGP 229,400. The Rio’s price tag grew by EGP 40,000, reaching EGP 273,500. The price of the Soul’s base model was increased to EGP 333,000 after the company raised the price by EGP 53,000.
A further EGP 30,000 was added to the Picanto’s price tag, totalling EGP 200,000 for a base model. The Sportatge and Cee’d models were also not immune to the initial price increase, as prices went up by EGP 61,000 and EGP 33,500, respectively.
Sources from within Kia say car prices will continue to follow this upward trend throughout November, affected by the dollar exchange rate that had stood at EGP 17.80 last week and is nearly double what it was prior to the flotation of the pound.
The sources said that companies are still having difficulties in acquiring dollars from banks, adding that this could revitalise the unofficial market.
Local car manufacturers with licence to manufacture other brands have also begun raising their prices. Ghabbour Auto raised the prices of all of their models by 15 November. The company has significantly raised the prices of their Hyundai, Mazda, Geely, and Chery models.
The Chery Envy and the Chery Tiggo are priced at EGP 148,500 and EGP 212,000, respectively. The Geely Emgrand 7 sedan with no tinted glass costs EGP 162,000. The tinted version costs EGP 163,000.
Depending on the model, the Geely Pandino’s price ranges from EGP 124,500-142,500. The XPandino line of cars now costs between EGP 146,500 and EGP 149,000 for both the GB and GL types.
Ghabbour Auto had changed the prices of all of Hyundai’s models in the aftermath of the pound’s flotation. Hyundai has seen large spikes in the price of their vehicles, varying between EGP 10,000 and EGP 30,000.
Hyundai’s i10 series price range is now EGP 165,000-EGP 180,500, while the Grand i10 ranges from EGP 187,500-203,000. The Hyundai Creta has been priced at EGP 345,000-392,000, while the Hyundai Tucson’s price range is EGP 475,000-539,000.
As for the Hyundai Accent, the base model now costs EGP 245,000, with other models costing upwards of EGP 250,000. The Solaris price ranges from EGP 245,000-255,000. The i30 Facelift now fetches between EGP 324,000-370,000. The Elantra AD is being sold at prices ranging from EGP 322,000-367,000, while the Elantra HD price ranges from EGP 253,000-270,000.
Ghabbour Auto has also raised the price of the popular Hyundai Verna, setting the price for a base model at EGP 153,000 and EGP 188,500 for its most luxurious model.
Shortly after the pound was floated, Hyundai had increased the prices of their manual and automatic transmission models of the Verna 2017 by EGP 10,000 and EGP 15,000, respectively. The manual model’s cost rose to EGP 148,500, while the automatic transmission model settled at EGP 182,500.
Hyundai had raised the price of the i10 as well by EGP 15,000, increasing the cost of its base model to EGP 160,000, and the price of the Grand i10 by EGP 19,000, increasing the cost of its base model to EGP 177,500. As for the price of the Elantra AD, it had been increased by EGP 30,000, increasing its base model cost to EGP 296,000. The Elantra HD had been increased by EGP 20,000, with a starting price of EGP 238,000.
The company had also raised the price of the Accent by EGP 20,000, bringing the cost of a base model up to EGP 235,000. The Creta’s base model rose by EGP 30,000, bringing its total cost to EGP 315,000.
The German brand Mercedes also set new prices for its B-Class, GLA-Class, CLA-Class, C-Class, and E-Class cars. The B180 premium models cost EGP 473,000, while its luxury line costs EGP 523,000. The GLA’s price has been set at EGP 573,000.
The Mercedes CLA 180’s price tag starts at EGP 508,000, with its most exclusive models peaking at EGP 623,000. The C180’s base model costs EGP 629,000, while the E180’s E class has been priced at EGP 890,000.
