Egypt’s Automotive Exports Reach $821.6 Million Driven by Local Assembly and Manufacturing Strategy
Record Surge in Exports Led by Wiring Harnesses
Egypt’s exports in the automotive and auto components sector grew by 2.7% to reach approximately $821.6 million during the first eight months of the year, compared to nearly $800 million in the same period last year, according to data from the Engineering Export Council of Egypt (EEC). Sherif El-Sayyad, Chairman of the Council, noted that exports in August alone rose by 6.5% year-on-year to around $115 million. Automotive wiring harnesses and cable assemblies topped the exported products list with a 48% share, followed by vehicles designed to transport 10 or more people for tourism purposes at 4%, and heavy-vehicle wiring harnesses at 13%.
Ambitious 2030 Targets to Deepen Local Manufacturing
This positive performance is supported by the National Strategy for Automotive Industry Development and its associated incentives program. The government aims to boost production capacity to 260,000 vehicles annually by 2030, up from the current 95,000 units, while increasing local value addition to 60% and pushing local content above 35%.
Production Requirements and Local Content Incentives
The national program sets a minimum production threshold of 10,000 vehicles per year per factory and 5,000 units per model. It introduces an initial local content requirement of no less than 20%, rising gradually to 35%. To encourage deeper localization, the strategy offers manufacturers an additional incentive of 5,000 EGP for every 1% increase in local content beyond the 35% mark.