Osama Aboul Maged, the chairperson of the Egyptian Automotive Dealers Association, praised the Central Bank of Egypt’s decision to liberalise the exchange on Thursday, setting its value based on supply and demand mechanisms. He said the CBE’s decision will support Egypt’s economy following its successive crises due to the wide gap between the US dollar price in banks and the unofficial market.
However, Aboul Maged expressed his concern over the impact of the liberalisation of the exchange rate on the automotive sector, pointing out that the decision will increase the prices of cars, even after the recent successive price hikes.
He added that car prices will increase due to the expected increase in auto customs.
He denied that the association has taken any decision to halt auto sales, adding that they allowed each dealer to make his own decision.
The CBE decided to liberate the exchange rate on Thursday, with a guiding price of EGP 13 to the dollar, while banks were given the freedom to determine the price of the dollar against the pound.
