Automotive sales rebound in 1Q2018: Total vehicle sales (including passenger cars and commercial vehicles) jumped 32.3% y-o-y in 1Q2018, with around 35,100 units sold, according to figures from the Automotive Information Council (AMIC). Passenger car sales grew 24% during the quarter. Sales of imported cars were up more than 21%, while, sales of locally assembled cars surged more than 40% y-o-y. Nissan continued to top passenger car sales with a 23% market share, followed by Hyundai (22%), Renault and Chevrolet (10% each), Toyota (7%), and Kia (6%). Truck sales soared 91% y-o-y during the quarter to 7,440 units, up from 3,900 during the same period last year.

Automotive sales are expected to rise as much as 10-15% over the course of 2018, deputy head of the car dealers association Ehab El Moslemy tells Al Mal. The expected rise will come as consumers absorb the shock of rising prices, he said. The year-long slump in the auto industry, which saw passenger car sales decline 30% in 2017 after the float of the EGP in late 2016, began slowing in November, which saw a 0.4% increase in sales. December saw a sharp jump of 21% in sales, but the recovery was short-lived — January recorded the lowest number of cars sold since May 2017 due to low sales of imported vehicles.