CAIRO: Driving down the street, it's obvious that there are more and more cars on the road everyday. Egypt's automotive market grew by 37.2 percent in the first half of 2008, according to a report released by the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC). The growth in the total market includes passenger cars as well as buses and trucks. Passenger cars made up 77 percent of total market sales, while buses and trucks comprised 6 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Passenger cars' total sales grew by 33.6 percent to reach 108,670 units in the first half of the year, up from 81,310 units during the same period in 2007. According to the AMIC report, the Hyundai brand dominated the market with a 25 percent market share, followed by Chevrolet with a 12 percent market share. In its daily market report, Belton Financial said, "The local automotive market sales are growing strongly. Despite the inflationary challenges, the market grew in June 2008 by 44 percent during the month compared to June 2007. Despite ubiquitous traffic jams and recent registration fee hikes, car sales are booming at about 30 percent per year, spurred by lower trade barriers and economic growth. Car per person rates are still quite low, with only about 20 cars per 1,000 Egyptians. The May 5 price hikes raised registration fees for most vehicles by between LE 100 and LE 150, depending on the size of the engine. Auto sales in Egypt have more than tripled over the last three years, spurred by a handful of developments: The pound has largely stabilized and, against some currencies, is even rising; the economy continues to rumble forward; and in September 2004, the state more than halved customs duties on cars with engine capacity up to 1.6 liters. The growing demand for passenger cars will likely continue due to the development of personal financing options. It is estimated that 40 percent of car purchases are bought with loans, 30 to 40 percent are paid for in cash, with the remainder financed through other means. Hyundai is still dominating the market, Beltone Financial said, "due to the strong brand name and the fact that the group has the largest service center network in the country. "Accordingly, we believe that the passenger car division of the group will continue to have at least more of a quarter market share, in the medium term, and will, therefore, expand with the strong growth in the market.
