Car Imports in Egypt Hit $169.4 Million in May 2023 Amid Market Variations

For the first time this year, Egypt’s car imports expenditure reached $169.4 million in May 2023. This was highlighted in the latest monthly report from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Interestingly, the same month saw a 22% decline in the imports of auto spare parts.

The agency’s report notes a significant 37.6% increase in car imports compared to the same period last year, which recorded $123.1 million. Conversely, auto parts imports dropped to approximately $53.7 million in May 2023, a $15.3 million decrease from the $69 million reported in May 2022.

In a broader context, Egypt’s overall imports in May 2023 decreased by 9.4%, amounting to roughly $7.12 billion, compared to the $7.85 billion during the same period in 2022.

The transportation sector saw varied changes:

• Freight vehicle imports plummeted by 58.5%, with an import value of $11.8 million, showing a decline of about $16.7 million from May 2022.
• Imports of tires and inner tubes skyrocketed by 63.9%, reaching roughly $53.6 million. This was an impressive increase of $20.9 million over the previous year.
• Tractor imports experienced a downturn of 40.5%, with a total value of about $8.5 million, marking a decline of $5.8 million from the previous year’s figures.

The car sales landscape was not favorable either. In May 2023, there was a 57.2% decline in the car market, with sales plummeting to approximately 7.3 thousand cars from the 17.1 thousand cars sold in May 2022, as per the Automotive Market Council report.

Detailed sales figures from the report further outline:

• “Ownership” cars: Sales fell by 51.8% to 5.7 thousand cars from 11.8 thousand in the previous year.
• Bus sales: There was a 60.6% reduction, totaling 694 buses, down from 1.7 thousand in May 2022.
• Truck sales: The decline was sharper at 68.5%, with only about 924 trucks sold compared to 3.5 thousand in the comparative period of the prior year.

These fluctuations in both import and sales figures underline the evolving dynamics of Egypt’s automotive sector in 2023.