Car prices have maintained their price increases since last year, especially after the liberilisation of the exchange rate. Auto companies increased their prices in December, making it difficult for the market to improve sales before the end of the year. Opel, Mitsubishi, Renault, Ford, Toyota, Chery, Nissan, Hyundai, and BMW topped the list of price increases. Daily News Egypt conducted a survey over the last 12 months to find that price changes ranged from 7% to 129% in some models. Ongoing increases in car prices pushed the market to the brink of recession, recording a 50% drop in sales compared to last year, after the severe decline in Egyptians' purchasing power. BMW increases price of 318i by EGP 30,000 BMW increased the price of 520i by about EGP 150,000 to reach EGP 1.25m, while X1's price declined by about EGP 60,000 to EGP 690,000. The German brand has raised the price of all its models by 26-62% from the beginning of November 2016 until the end of October 2017. BMW added about EGP 120,000 to the price of 118i, EGP 220,000 to 218i, EGP 165,000 to 318i, EGP 200,000 to 320i, EGP 250,000 to 330i, EGP 235,000 to 340i, EGP 276,000 to 418i, EGP 175,000 to X1, EGP 360,000 to X3, EGP 440,000 to X5, and EGP 400,000 to X6. Ghabbour Auto raises price of Emgrand 7 to EGP 175,000 Ghabbour Auto raised the price of its car Geely Emgrand 7 by about EGP 11,000 to reach EGP 175,000. The company raised the price of Emgrand 7 by about EGP 23,000 last November to reach EGP 164,500 at the time. Chery raises prices of Envy, Tiggo Chery increased the price of Envy by EGP 19,000 to reach EGP 160,000, while the price of Tiggo was increased by EGP 8,000 to record EGP 233,000. Ghabbour Auto raised the prices of Chery Envy by about EGP 16,500 and Tiggo by about EGP 40,500 since the Central Bank of Egypt's decision to float the Egyptian pound last November until November 2017. Hyundai increases prices of its models Hyundai increased the price of Verna with automatic transmission by EGP 7,000 to reach EGP 184,900 and added EGP 12,000 to the price of Elantra HD to record EGP 246,000, about EGP 7,500 to Accent reaching EGP 249,900, and EGP 13,000 to Tucson. The Korean company increased its model prices by 7-42%, as it increased the price of Verna by about EGP 15,500 since November 2016 to this past November to reach EGP 153,900. Since last November, Hyundai added EGP 41,000 to i10, EGP 68,000 to Grand i10, EGP 34,000 to Elantra AD, EGP 15,000 to Elantra HD, EGP 27,500 to Accent, EGP 32,000 to Solaris, EGP 80,000 to Creta, EGP 74,000 to Tuscon, and EGP 28,500 to i30. Toyota Corolla price hits EGP 352,000 Japanese brand Toyota added EGP 5,000 to the price of its Corolla, while the rest of its model prices have remained unchanged since last month. Since the floatation of local currency, Toyota's pricing witnessed an escalation wave with increase rates ranging from 33.5% to 129.5%. The price of Toyota Fortuner increased by EGP 470,000 to hit about EGP 1.135m. Meanwhile, the price of Corolla increased by EGP 87,000, Yaris by EGP 79,000, Avanza by EGP 146,000, and Auris by EGP 160,000 to reach EGP 430,000. Opel Insignia's price reached EGP 480,000 Opel increased the price of its Insignia by about EGP 15,000 to settle at EGP 480,000, while Opel's other models kept their November prices unchanged in December. Since the floatation of local currency, Opel has increased its car prices by 17-52% until the end of October. The German carmaker added EGP 55,000 to Astra reaching EGP 325,000. Insignia price also increased by EGP 75,000, Cascada by EGP 130,000, Adam by EGP 119,000, Mokka by EGP 54,000, and Meriva by EGP 59,000. Mitsubishi Lancer price rose by EGP 17,000 Mitsubishi increased the price of its Lancer by EGP 17,000 to reach EGP 264,900 for a basic model and EGP 296,900 for a premium model. The Japanese carmaker increased the prices of its models by 25%-45.5% from November 2016 until November 2017. It added about EGP 500,000 to the price of Pajero and EGP 55,000 to Lancer. Renault added EGP 25,000 to Sandero price Renault increased the price of its car Sandero by EGP 25,000 this month to reach EGP 241,000, while other model prices remained unchanged in November. The French carmaker changed its model pricing over the past 12 months, with increases of 18-70%. Renault added EGP 58,000 to Duster, EGP 42,000 to Logan, EGP 149,000 to Megan, EGP 50,000 to Captur, EGP 62,000 to Kadjar, and EGP 44,000 to Sandero, and Stepway. Ford maintains November prices except for Focus Ford kept its November prices unchanged in December, except the Focus, the price of which jumped by EGP 41,000 to settle at EGP 334,000. Since the CBE's decision to float the local currency, Ford increased the price of its Fusion by EGP 90,000, while it added EGP 120,000 to the price of Kuga, EGP 68,000 to Focus, and EGP 33,000 to EcoSport. Nissan increases prices of Sunny, Sentra, Qashqai Nissan increased the prices of Sunny by about EGP 7,000, Sentra by EGP 10,000 to reach EGP 295,000 and Qashqai by EGP 19,000 to record EGP 424,000. On the other hand, the Japanese carmaker cut the price of Juke Platinum by about EGP 30,000 to settle at EGP 355,000. Nissan had the lowest price hike during the past 12 months, ranging from 10.2% to 32.8%, except for Juke Platinum the price of which rose by 96.13%, equivalent to EGP 174,000 since last November. The company also added EGP 21,000 to the price of Sunny, EGP 67,000 to Sentra, and EGP 100,000 to Qashqai. Kia models without changes The prices of Kia models have stabilised for the fourth month in a row without changes in December. Kia has witnessed several changes over the past year and a half, with the most recent change in March, where prices were reduced by nearly EGP 50,000 before a later increase in the same month. In August, Kia increased the prices of Carens, Cerato, and Soul by EGP 4,000, while Cee'd price increased by EGP 5,000 reaching EGP 365,000. Rio recorded EGP 318,000 with an increase of EGP 3,000, and Picanto increased by EGP 2,000 to reach EGP 232,000. Chevrolet Cruze hits EGP 314,000 The price of Chevrolet Cruze jumped by EGP 30,000 in December to record EGP 314,000. The American brand also increased the price of Aveo by EGP 1,000 and Optra by EGP 3,000. Chevrolet moved up the prices of its cars in the past 12 months by 21-54%. The price of the Aveo surged by EGP 40,000, while it added EGP 36,400 to Optra, EGP 38,400 to Lanos, and EGP 99,000 to Cruze. Mercedes kept the prices of September unchanged Mercedes kept its car prices unchanged since September. The brand had raised the prices of its cars by 22-72%, adding EGP 234,000 to the price of C180, EGP 165,000 to CLA180, EGP 500,000 to E180, EGP 305,000 to GLA200, and EGP 460,000 to S400.
