Another Chinese automaker gears up to launch local assembly: The country’s sole agent for China’s Jinbei, Jinbei Royal Egypt, has landed an agreement to assemble their models in Egypt starting early 2025, Chairman Khaled Saad told EnterpriseAM. The company plans to assemble 3k vehicles in 2025, a number Saad told us would increase in later years.

EVs are high on the agenda: The agreement will see the local auto player assembling the first electric cargo van and microbus in the country, according to Saad. The agreement also entails assembling Jinbei’s traditional combustion-engine vehicles to fill local market demand.

Auto exports are also in the cards: Aside from meeting local market demand, Saad told Enterprise that his company is also hoping to offload Jinbei’s assembled vehicles to African and European markets.

Auto localization is the name of the game: Saad told us that the agreement aligns with the state’s push for localizing the automotive industry and its feeders industries. The project will focus on boosting the local components ratio of the assembled-in-Egypt vehicles, especially EVs, which help reduce the government’s import bill, and help reduce carbon emissions, Saad added.

Remember: The country’s automobile market has been volatile in 2024, but mostly in decline throughout the year on the back of import restrictions, difficulties in accessing FX for fund imports, and rising prices pushing consumers out of the market. However, the tide could be turning with industry insiders telling EnterpriseAM earlier this month that the Central Bank of Egypt has instructed banks to begin processing car importers’ requests for USD-denominated letters of credit, ending a six-month halt.

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