The founder of “Let It Rust – Duty Free” campaign, Ahmed Abdel Moez, was interviewed by Daily News Egypt. He said the campaign’s Facebook page has 400,000 followers until now. The move aims to control car prices and reduce financial burdens on customerss who are already suffering from price hikes.
He told DNE that unlike other countries, cars prices in Egypt are really excessive. The profit margin of each car could reach 100% or more in some models, especially those that are locally assembled.
According to Abdel Moez, car dealers are selling old models which are no longer produced in their countries of origin, at the same price of new models, while they are actually sold in their origin countries at half of their prices after three years of manufacturing them.
“Till now, our campaign has caused a slight decline in car prices, particularly the European-manufactured ones, of about 5%, and we are expecting a 35% decline by June,” Abel Moez said.
“The only way to fight price hikes caused by car dealers is to allow more dealers to sell the same brand, not only one dealer, which will boost the industry sector and increase competitiveness. Unfortunately, the current situation led to a monopoly of some models in the market which allowed the dealerships to set high prices at the expense of customers. The market also needs new legislations to encourage investments in the sector and attract further brands to the market,” he added.
Abel Moez also called on the government to restore El Nasr, Egypt’s state-owned automobile company, through privatisation that allows the private sector to acquire 51% stake of the company to benefit both sides.
