The automobile market is witnessing fluctuations and instability with the eliminaion of customs duties on Turkish-origin cars according to the free trade agreement between Egypt and Turkey, which started discounting cars from South Korean, Japanese, and Russian cars, as well as American, and German.
Many car companies announced their car prices retreated, affected by Turkish exemptions and keeping the competitive factor, in addition to the continuous improvement of the local currency performance against foreign currencies.
Montaser Zeitoun, member of the General Automobile Division of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, said the cut in prices was based on several criteria, the most important of which is the decline in the price of the US dollar against the Egyptian pound. It witnessed a depreciation by more than 20% since the beginning of last year.
He added that this decline coincided with the application of customs exemption on Turkish-origin cars, which forced companies to make extensive reductions on different models to revive sales and motivate consumers to purchase.
Zeitoun went on to say that the custom exemption on Turkish and European cars left other cars in a real dilemma, whether in terms of price or quality, especially as these cars are distinguished by the reliability and are preferred by Egyptian consumers, as they enjoy the ease of resale and getting spare parts and maintenance, unlike US and Japanese cars.
He said that agents and distributors’ interest in discounts -even though their cars did not get customs exemption- is an attempt to correct pricing operations, which has weakened the consumer’s confidence in the current prices.
Zeitoun expected to see a growth of car sales at the beginning of the second quarter of this year.
Dynamics Auto company of Italian mark agents “Fiat” in Egypt announced a decline to “Tipo” prices at a value of EGP 25,000, as the price of the first category with ordinary transmission reached EGP 189,900. The price of the first category with automatic transmission hit EGP 249,900, the price of the second category dropped to EGP 204,900, the second category recorded EGP 284,900, while the prices of Hachback cars category retreated by EGP 70,000. It is sold at an official price of EGP 309,900 after a previous value of EGP 379,900.
The Toyota Corolla 2020, with an ordinary gear transmission, dropped in prices for the first category from EGP 304,000 to EGP 290,000. The price of Toyota Corolla 2020, the second category with automatic transmission, fell from EGP 325,000 to EGP 315,000, down EGP 10,000. The price of Toyota Corolla 2020, the third category with automatic transmission, decreased from 362,000 EGP to EGP 350,000, down EGP 12,000.
The price of Toyota Corolla 2020 in the fourth category with an automatic transmission became EGP 400,000 instead of EGP 419,000 with a reduction of EGP 19,000. The price of Toyota Corolla 2020, the fifth category with automatic transmission, fell from EGP 469,000 to EGP 450,000.
Some of the locally assembled cars took the same approach to find a way to compete under the drop of prices of imported cars that managed to attract a big segment of customers. Nissan company’s agent announced the reduction of the price of Nissan Sentra 2020 in its different categories by about EGP 15,000. The price of Nissan Sentra 2020, the first category, would be EGP 272,000, and the second category would be EGP 290,000, the price of Nissan Sentra 2020, the third category would be EGP 328,000.
The prices of Hyundai Elantra HD 2020 fell to EGP 239,900 in the first category. The price of the second category became EGP 246,900, with EGP 1,000 decline, and the third category reached EGP 252,900, while the fourth category reached EGP 259,900. The price of the fifth category hit EGP 267,900.
The Russian car “Lada” dealers said that the price of Lada Granta (manual transmission) was reduced to EGP 155,000 instead of EGP 158,000. While the price of Lada Granta (automatic transmission) became EGP 175,000 instead of EGP 178,000.
Although European automakers announced major cuts last January, according to custom exemption of European-origin cars, were still included in the current price cuts. The prices of the Czech brand cars “Skoda” decreased and the price of Škoda Kodiaq Active became EGP 550,000. The price of Kodiaq Dynamic seven decreased to EGP 590,000. The price of Škoda Kodiaq Ambition was EGP 770,000, while the company offered the Škoda Kodiaq Ambition car at an official price of EGP 710,000. And the Sport Line seven car came with an official price of EGP 750,000.
The prices of its famous model Octavia have been reduced to EGP 359,900 instead of EGP 390,000, with a reduction of EGP 30,100. Octavia Style came at a price of EGP 450,000 instead of EGP 465,000 with a reduction of EGP 15,000.
German Opel’s dealer Al-Mansour Group said the reduction of the prices of the Opel Insignia Grand Sport model, and the price of the first category of Opel Elegance became EGP 450,000 instead of EGP 480,000, down EGP 30,000. The price of the second category was EGP 490,000, instead of EGP 520,000, down EGP 30,000. The third category offered the top line with EGP 560,000 instead of EGP 600,000, down EGP 40,000.
Discounts were also announced for the Opel Grand Land. The price of the first category Elegance stood at EGP 420,000 instead of EGP 450,000, down EGP 30,000. The second category, High Line, is sold at EGP 450,000 instead of EGP 485,000, down EGP 35,000. The prices of the third category, X Top Line, dropped by EGP 40,000 to EGP 490,000 instead of EGP 530,000.
The discounts extended beyond luxury cars. The Egyptian Automotive Trading Company, agent of Audi, said that the prices of the first quarter of 2020 fell by EGP 50,000 to EGP 100,000, so that the prices of the first category reached EGP 675,000 instead of EGP 730,000, and the second category was offered at EGP 750,000 instead of EGP 800,000. The price of the higher category hit EGP 2m instead of EGP 2.1m.
Also, the prices of Audi cars declined by EGP 40,000 to EGP 50,000, so that the price of Audi A3, the first category, reaches EGP 460,000 instead of EGP 500,000. The price of the second category hit EGP 530,000 instead of EGP 570,000, and the price of the A6 was EGP 1.25m instead of EGP 1.3m.
On South Korean cars, Ghabbour Auto Group reduced the Hyundai prices.
Malaysian cars did the same, and Proton’s agent announced a reduction in the price of automatic transmission Saga to EGP 195,000 instead of EGP 198,000.
American cars also saw some price reductions. The prices of Chevrolet Malibu 2019 dropped to EGP 370,000 instead of EGP 390,000, and the price of Malibu LT 2019 (LT) dropped to EGP 400,000 instead of EGP 420,000. The price of Malibu LTZ 2019 reached EGP 430,000 instead of EGP 450,000.
SUVs also saw declines. Hyundai Tucson’s first category fell to EGP 399,900 instead of EGP 424,900, a reduction of EGP 25,000. The second category would be EGP 429,900 instead of EGP 449,900, a reduction of EGP 20,000, while the third category would be EGP 454,900 instead of EGP 474,900. As for the fourth category, it is sold at EGP 484,900 instead of EGP 504,900, and the fifth category is offered at an official price of EGP 489,900 instead of EGP 509,900.
Also, the prices of Hyundai Tucson Turbo fell to EGP 455,000 instead of EGP 478,900, down by EGP 23,900. The price of the second category hit EGP 509,900 instead of EGP 529,900, while the price of the third category reached EGP 514,900 instead of EGP 534,900, and the fourth category was EGP 554,900 instead of EGP 574,900. The price of the fifth category hit EGP 559,900 instead of EGP 579,900.
Kia’s agents also announced the decline of Kia Sportage prices in values ranging from EGP 25,000 to EGP 35,000. The first category hit a price of EGP 395,000 instead of EGP 430,000, down EGP 35,000, and the second category LX FO hit EGP 435,000 instead of EGP 460,000, down EGP 25,000. The third category LX FO+ dropped to EGP 445,000 instead of EGP 470,000, while the fourth category would reach EGP 475,000 instead of EGP 500,000. As for the fifth category, the higher line+ offers an official price of EGP 485,000 instead of EGP 510,000, down EGP 25,000. The sixth category is Topline at a price of EGP 510,000 instead of EGP 535,000, a decrease of EGP 25,000. Finally, the seventh category will reach the price of EGP 520,000 instead of EGP 545,000, down EGP 25,000.
Nissan’s agent reduced the price of Nissan Qashqai 2020 at its different category by about EGP 15,000, so that the price of Nissan Qashqai 2020 is EGP 384,900. The price of Nissan Qashqai 2020 second category was EGP 419.9, and Nissan Qashqai new 2020 price was EGP 446,900.
Price cuts for Chinese cars, which are most affected by the exemption of customs duties on European and Turkish cars, are also noticable. The elimination of customs has also eliminated their competitive advantage, especially after many cars joined their price category. Kasrawy group of Chinese car agents Jack announced the decline of the prices of the 2019 model S2 and the price of the “Chery” category to EGP 210,000 instead of EGP 226,000. The category “Smart” was offered at a price of EGP 220,000 instead of EGP 239,000.
As for the 2019 S3 model, it is available in one category, the highest-equipped top Line for EGP 249,000 instead of EGP 259,000, with EGP 10,000 reduction.
DFSK in Egypt announced a new low price for a limited period for its 2019 “Eagle 580” car, which comes at a price of EGP 290,000.
“IFG”, agent of Chinese “Hanteng” cars, has reduced the price of X7S by about EGP 20,000, to make price of Hunting X7S Royal EGP 310,000 instead of EGP 330,000. As for Henteng X7S Flagshib 2020, it was offered at EGP 330,000 instead of EGP 350,000.
