The wave of price cuts in the automotive market that started in early 2025 has completely dried up, making way for a fresh cycle of price hikes. Cars are currently being sold at their official list prices in the wake of the war on Iran, without any reductions in sight, according to market players speaking to EnterpriseAM.

For some models in short supply, EGP 100k markdowns have been replaced with an EGP 100k overprice — an EGP 200k swing for buyers, member of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s automotive division Montasser Zeitoun tells us. We are already seeing price bumps across 14-24 different car models, the division’s Vice Chairman Alaa El Saba notes. Companies like GB Auto raised prices by EGP 15k-40k, and more than six Asian car brands have hit pause on sales until they can figure out how to reprice their vehicles.

The war on Iran has ratcheted up price pressure on many fronts, with the exchange rate as the most influential factor, El Saba tells us. With EGP falling from around 46 to now nearly 53 against the greenback, this roughly 10% depreciation adds a further EGP 100k cost on an EGP 1 mn vehicle.

Maritime ins. costs have also filtered down into the market, with some vessels seeing their ins. costs jumping 12-fold, Zeitoun said. A very volatile global energy market is also increasing the costs of shipping over new models.

The rise in prices pushed buyers into the market in anticipation of further price rises, further ramping up pricing as demand outstripped supply, we’re told. Those looking to purchase a car had been delaying purchases in the hope of further reductions, leading to a significant amount of pent-up demand waiting for a sign that prices wouldn’t drop any further.

But isn’t this the golden moment for locally assembled cars to shine? Unfortunately, local factories are hitting a wall of their own. They are battling severe supply chain issues for local parts, making it hard to scale up, Zeitoun explains. Even before the war, local production couldn’t keep up with demand, and nearly 90% of locally built cars were already selling at a premium.

The entire market has barely enough cars to last two months, we’re told. Things are so tight that some showrooms have stopped selling certain models altogether, keeping them strictly for display so the floors don’t look empty, El Saba tells us.

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