{"id":581202,"date":"2023-02-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/02\/17\/so-you-want-to-buy-a-new-car-do-you-have-any-options-at-all-right-now-heres-the-state-of-play-as-of-february-2023\/"},"modified":"2023-02-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T00:00:00","slug":"so-you-want-to-buy-a-new-car-do-you-have-any-options-at-all-right-now-heres-the-state-of-play-as-of-february-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/02\/17\/so-you-want-to-buy-a-new-car-do-you-have-any-options-at-all-right-now-heres-the-state-of-play-as-of-february-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"So, you want to buy a new car \u2014 do you have any options at all right now? Here\u2019s the state of play as of February 2023."},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/span>Want to buy a brand new car?<\/span> Only a few <\/span>2023<\/span> models are currently available <\/span>at car deale<\/span>rships around the country. If you\u2019re picky and have a specific model in mind, odds are very good you\u2019ll be waiting six or more months before you can get behind the wheel \u2014 or pay an exorbitant amount to get it. We\u2019ve spoken to industry experts, and they\u2019ve given us a list of <\/span>locally-assembled 2023 models<\/span> you can get your hands on right away. Not interested in any of the models available? They\u2019ve also let us know what you have to do \u2014 or how long you\u2019ll have to wait \u2014 to get the car you actually want, particularly if it\u2019s imported as a \u201ccompletely built up\u201d vehicle. <\/span><\/p>\n

Refresher: <\/span>Egypt's automotive market has been going through a <\/span>rough<\/a><\/span> time for the past year, <\/span>as <\/span>import restrictions made it almost impossible for distributors to bring in fully built-up vehicles. FX shortages made the import of even kits for local assembly and spare parts challenging, forcing a number of global car manufacturers to suspend sales to Egypt \u2014 and prompting local assemblers to down tools. The import restrictions have led auto sales to <\/span>fall<\/a><\/span> more than a third in 2022, dropping from 290k vehicles in 2021 to 184k, according to figures released by the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC).<\/span><\/p>\n

The import restrictions were officially <\/span>getting scrapped<\/a><\/span> at the end of last year<\/span>, but it\u2019s <\/span>going to take plenty of time before importers start clearing goods out of ports, let alone place new orders. <\/span><\/p>\n

As things stand, thousands of fully assembled cars are currently still stuck in ports<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>senior automotive industry figures told us. Imported vehicles are considered luxury goods and so are not on the list of priority commodities being released at ports, they explained. <\/span><\/p>\n

This means that a vast majority of the 2023 models available are locally assembled <\/span>models<\/span>, which rely on spare parts that are more easily released from ports than cars that are completely built up, also known as completely built units (CBUs), <\/span>several industry leaders told us<\/span>. <\/span>That also probably means you\u2019ll be seeing locally assembled vehicles available sooner than you will fully imported vehicles, given that CKD kits appear to have a higher priority in the queue for FX.<\/span><\/p>\n

Right now, some 70% of the cars available in the market are locally assembled models<\/span>, <\/span>Abou Ghaly Group Chief Operating Officer Tamer Kotb said. The rest are a (small) mixed bag of 2022 models and very few completely built 2023 models that distributors are able to release from ports by coughing up USD, Kotb said. <\/span><\/p>\n

And even the locally assembled cars that are available are limited:<\/span> The units available are <\/span>in the hundreds, if not tens, at showrooms,<\/span> <\/span>Kotb said, adding that kits are coming through, but nowhere near fast enough to keep pace with demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

JUST ABOUT THE ONLY LOCALLY ASSEMBLED <\/span>2023 CARS AVAILABLE ARE \u2026 <\/span>(drumroll) \u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n

MERCEDES<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n