Our auto localization efforts are bearing fruit: Automotive player Stellantis has announced that it would restart assembling the Jeep Grand Cherokee L locally at the factories of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI)’s Arab American Vehicles Company, the company said in a press release. The move is a “vote of confidence in the capabilities of Egyptian professionals and the strength of local infrastructure,” the release said. The company had been looking to expand its local assembly line to include two new models, holding discussions in July with the AOI over the matter.

What they said: “We’re recommitting to Egypt’s industrial growth and solidifying our position in the MEA region,” COO of Stellantis Middle East and Africa Samir Cherfan said. “Our goal is to achieve market leadership in Egypt and increase our regional market share to over 22% by 2030,” he added.

Citroen models could be next: Stellantis is reportedly in talks with the Industry Ministry over assembling Citroen’s C4X model in Egypt, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed government sources. The company is currently in discussion with component suppliers as it works to meet the government’s local component ratio of at least 45%. Unconfirmed reports out this week said the company is looking into exporting locally-made Citroen models to Libya and Algeria, among a number of other Arab nations.

Remember: The Madbouly government has been working to localize the auto industry, introducing the Egyptian Automotive Industry Development Program (AIDP) in 2022, which will offer incentives to auto players with the aim of localizing the industry and its feeder industries, with the aim of enhancing the country’s existing assembly and manufacturing capabilities — and of encouraging new investment to the sector.

Read more: We dove into the government’s efforts to localize the auto industry in an Inside Industry published earlier this week.

AND AN IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO DRIVE A MERCEDES-

Think twice before buying a Chinese-imported Mercedes EV: Mercedes Benz Egypt has issued a warning to its customers about purchasing a number of its EV models that have been imported into the local market from China, saying in a press release (pdf) that these models were specifically manufactured for the Chinese market and aren’t being sold locally by the firm or its authorized dealers network.

The models include the EQA, EQB, EQE, EQE SUV, EQS, EQS SUV and their high-performance Mercedes-AMG variants, the company said.

The imported models won’t be covered under the company’s warranty program in Egypt due to their “different technical specifications and charging requirements,” but it will provide limited services to the vehicles through its authorized network depending on the availability of parts and technical capabilities, the statement read.

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