There is a sharp recession in the automotive market because of the political situation in Egypt, according to the head of the cars division in Cairo's Chamber of Commerce, Effat Abdel Atty, and the rise in grand theft auto has been made possible by the absence of security. “There were around 300,000 units sold in 2009-2010, so it's obvious that the rate of car sales in 2012 has plunged by 30 to 40 per cent," Abdel Atty told Daily News Egypt. He added that the “overall car sales in December 2012 amounted to zero." Abdel Atty said people are not willing to buy new cars because of the rise and scarcity of the US dollar. People's fear of buying new cars has led to an increase in used car purchases. Abdel Atty said: “We cannot make expectations about the automotive market in 2013 because of the fast change in the dollar's exchange rate. Nonetheless from my point of view, overall car sales will shrink because rise in the price of the dollar." According to the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC), Egypt automotive sales have edged up from 158.400 in 2011 to 178.500 in 2012, to achieve an increase of 13 per cent. Chevrolet came in the first ranking, capturing 26.8 per cent of the market. Hyundai came in second place with a market share of 21 per cent, while Kia came in third with overall sales of 17.600 passenger cars. “Sales of domestically-assembled vehicles have increased in 2012 by 2.2 per cent," AMIC reported.
