The political unrest in Egypt is taking its toll on automakers, with Toyota having previously temporarily shut down its subsidiary in the African country because of the demonstrations against (the now former) President Mohamed Morsi.
The Japanese carmaker said that operations restarted and that none of its dealerships was damaged. A Toyota spokesman told Autonews Europe that sales were not affected and that he was not aware of any effects on Toyota’s CKD assembly plant in Cairo.
Toyota builds there the Fortuner mid-sized SUV (pictured here), which is based on the Hilux pickup truck. The plant has 700 employees. General Motors also has a complete knockdown plant in Cairo, but the Detroit carmaker didn’t offer any information on the impact the unrest has on its operations in Egypt.
Renault, which has 38 dealerships in the country, said it had not been affected by the uprising. The French carmaker added that it is monitoring the situation closely. Renault entered the market in 1979, but doesn’t have production facilities in the country.
Egypt is the third largest car-making country in Africa after South Africa and Morocco. Automakers built 36,800 units in Egypt last year, 11 percent less than in 2011, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).
Car sales in the first four months of this year were up 14 percent to 68,106 units, with Chevrolet being the top-selling brand (16,124), followed by Hyundai (10,510), Toyota (6,798), Kia (5,435) and Renault (3,155).
According to a number of reports, including one from The New York Times, the latest developments from Egypt are that the military has seized power and has placed President Morsi under house arrest.
By Dan Mihalascu
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