Abou Ghali Auto will launch tonight the Sandstorm S24, a made-in-the-UAE double-cab pickup truck that it will start producing in Egypt in 2026 for export to regional and global markets, Chairman and CEO Moustafa Abou Ghali told EnterpriseAM yesterday. Abou Ghali is importing the S24 already-assembled from the UAE until local assembly ramps up next year.

Sandstorm’s corporate parentage is impeccable: The company is part of IHC’s Alpha Dhabi group.

Unlocking the power of trade agreements: We talk a lot at EnterpriseAM about the power of Egypt’s interlocking networks of trade agreements as a key differentiator in our FDI and export drive. One of these trade agreements — the Greater Arab Freetrade Area (GAFTA) — is the big reason Abou Ghali is bringing the S24 here. The company is positioning itself to become an automotive export powerhouse from an under-construction, USD 26 mn plant near the Gulf of Suez that will start producing in 2Q 2026.

“As we were getting to know the brand, I already knew that our sister company, Regina, exports pasta to the UAE without tariffs under the GAFTA trade agreement — automobiles are no different, I discovered,” Abou Ghali said. Our friends at Beltone Investment Banking saw the potential between Abou Ghali Auto and Sandstorm and connected the two, acting as global coordinator.

(Regina is run by Moustafa’s brother Kareem, who was a My Morning Routine column back in 2023. The company is Egypt’s largest exporter of pasta to Africa.)

What made Sandstorm so attractive? Twin-cabin pickups have effectively been off the market in Egypt since 2010, when authorities reclassified them as passenger cars. That ruling made them subject to 271% import duties — a non-starter for the local market. Made in the UAE with more than 53% local content, the S24 comes in tariff-free under GAFTA.

The market structure today: Tariffs mean the Toyota Hilux and Nissan Navara are retailing at around the EGP 4 mn mark, making them attractive only to businesses that can bring in vehicles customs-free (think: oil and gas). The S24, Abou Ghali said yesterday, will retail in the neighborhood of EGP 2 mn. Distributors sold a bit more than 1.8k pickup trucks in June 2025, the last month for which industry group AMIC has released figures.

You’ve probably seen Sandstorms on the streets here: The Traffic Police have a fleet, and Abou Ghali’s fleet sales team sold a test order in eight days, with bookings for 100 more. The buyers: Brand-name construction companies, agriculture and land reclamation firms. Even the public sector was interested. Another 335 units are on their way to Egypt now, and 75 are already sold, Abou Ghali told us.

Big plans: “Egypt’s domestic market is obviously huge, but it’s not a challenge — we’ve been in the market since 1973. What’s exciting is that we’re going to start assembling the S24 here at home at a facility we’re now building out in the northern Gulf of Suez, minutes from port. The plan is to sell 100% of production there to international markets, capitalizing on Egypt’s strong localization platform and wide network of trade agreements,” Abou Ghali says. First production is expected in 2Q 2026.

FAST FACTS-

  • Abou Ghali Auto is aiming to sell 1.5k Sandstorm S24s in Egypt this year.
  • The company is launching the truck at an event this evening.
  • Abou Ghali Auto also distributes Hyundai, Chery, Chevrolet, MG, and Geely branded vehicles.
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