German carmaker BMW has named Global Auto Group as its new importer and agent in Egypt. Global Auto is a joint venture between Kuwait's Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, Saudi Arabia's Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors, and Egyptian firms Organi Group and Al Safi Group, a statement by the company read. The joint venture has also acquired Bavarian Auto Group (BAG), the former importer of both brands, the statement added. The acquisition sees BMW Group hand Global Auto the exclusive rights to import and assemble BMW and Mini cars in the Egyptian market. The joint venture has acquired BAG's existing network of service centres and showrooms, as well as its BMW assembly plant. The facility is home to three production lines with an annual production capacity of 10,000 vehicles. Fahad Alghanim, chairman of Global Auto Thomas Rinn, BMW Group President for Africa and Eastern Europe expressed his gratitude to return to Egypt saying "I am very thankful to be back in the fascinating city of Cairo to congratulate the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt for hosting a successful United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh." "It gives me great honour to officially announce that I have appointed Global Auto as new importer for BMW and MINI in Egypt, one of the most important markets for the BMW Group in Africa, where we will offer our full range of mobility solutions because there is no "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to individual customer needs, especially in Egypt." Alghanim is a BMW distributor in Kuwait and Iraq, while Naghi Motors is the exclusive importer of BMW, Mini, and Rolls Royce to the Saudi market. Global Auto is set to invest around $100 million in the Egyptian market, chairman Fahad Alghanim told CNBC Arabia and Bloomberg Asharq in separate interviews on the sidelines of the press conference. Part of the money will go to refurbishing existing showrooms and service centres and opening new ones powered by renewables, "especially in new urban cities," the statement read. Global Auto is also set to adopt BMW Group's "Retail Next" corporate identity for dealerships. The joint venture will restart assembly at the former BAG plant in January 2023, Alghanim added.
