Automotive companies started offering price cuts in order to move the recession of the market. The offers included Korean, Japanese, and American brands; European brands were absent from the campaign. Khaled Saad, the general manager of Brilliance in Egypt and a board member at Egyptian Automobile Manufacturers Association (EAMA), said that the sales market saw a decrease of 40% over the past two months compared to the same period in 2016, due to consumers refraining from buying after the price hikes in the past three months. He expected the decline in sales to continue by the same ratio in March compared to March 2016. Sales are expected to increase, now that there are discounts made by traders and a number of agents, all of which aim to get rid of the accumulated stock cars in light of the remarkable recession in sales. Saad believes that car sales will close with a decline between 25% and 30% by the end of 2017. Alaa Al-Saba, chairperson of Al-Saba Automotive Group, said that traders and a number of dealers reduced the prices to move the recession of the market, while the dollar problem is still ongoing. The problem is in the difficulty of its provision and the high purchase price, which reflects directly on the prices, Al-Saba said. He added that traders reduced their profit margins after the accumulation of stock cars, while the dollar exchange rate continues to increase against the pound. This means that traders increased the prices of their cars, according to the alternative opportunity cost. Daily News Egypt monitored the brands that reduced their prices at the beginning of March: Ghabbour Auto (GA) reduced the prices of Hyundai, Geely, Mazda, and Chery. Kia, Nissan, Chevrolet, and Subaru also reduced the prices of their cars. Nissan Nissan offered a 2.5% to 3.5% discount on its cars. The new Sunny price was reduced by EGP 5,000—2.5% of its original price. The Sentra, Juke Platinum, and Qashqai were each reduced by EGP 10,000. The offer will expire by the end of March or when all cars are sold. Nissan told its authorised distributors to stop selling its cars on Thursday, in order to list its cars in the market and start repricing them. Kia Kia reduced the prices of all its models, where the Rio price decreased by EGP 28,000 to reach EGP 304,900. The company also slashed EGP 30,000 from the Carens to reach EGP 444,900, and EGP 43,000 from the Cerato, now starting at EGP 299,900. The price of the Picanto also decreased, by EGP 23,000 to reach EGP 222,900, while that of the Soul reached EGP 370,000, with a decline of EGP 30,000 from last month. The car manufacturer also removed EGP 40,000 from the price of the Sportage to reach EGP 450,000. The company's sales revealed a decline of 15% in November compared to the previous year, through selling 1,450 units following the flotation of the pound, compared to 1,650 units in November 2015. The decline rate in December registered 40%, at 1,000 units compared to 1,670 units in December 2015. Chevrolet Chevrolet maintained the prices of all its models in March, except the Lanos, which was reduced by EGP 4,250. Hyundai Hyundai reduced the price of all its models, where the price of the i10 now ranges between EGP 149,000 and EGP 165,000. The Grand i10 is priced EGP 207,500 and EGP 223,000, discounts worth EGP 35,000. The price of the Accent's first category reached between EGP 235,000 and EGP 258,000. The price of the Solaris is now between EGP 242,000 and EGP 257,000. The Creta is now priced from EGP 355,000 to EGP 412,000, while the Tucson was reduced by EGP 15,000 to reach between EGP 490,000 and EGP 551,000. Prices of the Elantra ranged between EGP 220,000 and EGP 367,000, with a discount of EGP 55,000, according to GA's new prices. Verna registered a price tag of EGP 145,000 for its first class and EGP 199,000 for its higher classes. I30 facelift prices are specified between EGP 314,000 and EGP 385,000—a discount ratio of roughly10% and a value of EGP 35,000. Chery Chery decreased the price of its Envy model by EGP 25,000 to reach EGP 144,500, while it increased the price of the Tiggo to register at EGP 217,000. Geely The official price of the Emgrand 7 reached EGP 155,000—a discount of EGP 25,000. Mazda The Japanese brand Mazda provided discounts of EGP 60,000 on its Mazda 3, to be sold at a price of EGP 291,000. The Mazda 2 reached EGP 289,000 after a discount of EGP 18,000 was applied. Subaru Subaru reduced its XV price by EGP 50,000 to start from EGP 400,000 for its first class and EGP 490,000 for the higher class, previously sold at a price of EGP 540,000.
