Toyota: 40 years in the market, still going strong

CAIRO – 11 March 2018: Having been in the market for more than 40 years, Toyota has decided in 2017 to increase its investment in Egypt over a five-year span.

Toyota Egypt is, according to press reader, one of the largest vehicle companies in Egypt; it is also one of the oldest operating vehicle-related companies in the country.

As it stands, Toyota has approximately 12 official branches, which are operated by the company, and 44 other branches, which are run by authorized distributors to sell various products of Toyota in Egypt.

Since its establishment in the Free Zone in 1979, Toyota Egypt has been the sole distributor for Toyota Motor Corporation products in Egypt. It has continuously grown and developed, revolutionizing its vehicles and systems more and more along its journey in Egypt.

Today, Toyota is one of the leading brands in the Egyptian automotive sector.

To further develop the company and benefit the Egyptian automotive market, Toyota is planning to expand its work in Egypt.

In 2017, in partnership with Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), Toyota Egypt launched a line for assembling vehicle parts for the Toyota Fortuner 2017 at the Arab American Vehicles Co. The investment is valued at $8.5 million.

A similar assembly line of Toyota Fortuner was launched in 2012.

Toyota Egypt, in partnership with Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), on Monday launched a line for assembling car parts for the Toyota Fortuner 2017 at the Arab American Vehicles Co.

Toyota Egypt's investments in the project amount to $8.5 million.

Toyota Global’s CEO affirmed, “The new generation of Toyota Fortuner opens a new chapter in Egyptian-Japanese relations.”



Attending the contract signing was Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, said, “Toyota’s investment in the new product was encouraged by the economic program, which affirms the improvement of the investment climate in Egypt.”

Toyota is also targeting investing $1.5 billion in two projects in Egypt in the renewable energy sector and the Mediterranean natural gas exploration, according to Egypt's Ambassador to Japan Ismail Khairat. This move is set to come after the country’s issuance of the feed-in tariffs. Khairat said, “Japanese companies intend to inject new investments in Egypt during the upcoming period… We have confidence in the Egyptian economy owing to the market’s competitive advantages.”

The government had introduced in September 2014 the feed-in tariffs that encourage investment via offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers based on the production cost of the technology.

The deal confirms, as Nasr has pointed out, that the investment climate in Egypt is improving.

Commenting on this, the Minister of Local Development, said, “The Minister of Investment and International Cooperation succeeded in fostering a good investment climate in Egypt, which encourages the injection of new investments.”

Mr. Abdelaziz Seif-Eldin confirmed, “local manufacturing of the new product reaches 47.1 percent.” According to AAV’s chairman Mohamed Anis, the facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles.

Moreover, Toyota Egypt’s CEO said, “The company is keen on increasing its investments and supporting the Egyptian economy.”

Earlier this year, Toyota also expanded its role in Egypt by signing an agreement with Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of Japanese carmaker Toyota, to be the official distributor of Lexus cars in the Egyptian market as from 2018, after Egypt was named among the best car markets in the region.

Egypt, as Ahmed Monsef, Toyota Egypt’s CEO, made clear, “is a very important market to us [Toyota]. We [Toyota] plan to make it our regional hub in the coming five years.”



“Toyota-Egypt has signed an agreement with Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of Japanese car maker Toyota, to be the official distributor of Lexus cars in the Egyptian market as from 2018, after Egypt was named among the best car markets in the region,” reported Africa Business Communities.

“There is tense competition in the Egyptian car market, but Lexus, with its great potentials, will rearrange car market shares,” remarked Monsef, post-signing the agreement with Lexus.

Monsef expected that Lexus will have an influential and powerful role in the automotive market in Egypt.


A car with the Lexus logo is seen on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Most recently, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail met Sunday with representatives of Japan's Toyota Tsusho Company in the presence of the minister of electricity, minister of petroleum and the Japanese ambassador to Cairo.

The prime minister welcomed the company's representatives, stressing Egypt's appreciation of the existing cooperation with the company in a number of important projects, especially in the field of renewable energy and petrochemicals. He expressed his hope for further cooperation and Toyota injecting new investments during the coming period.

During the meeting, existing cooperation between Egypt and Toyota were discussed. Representatives expressed their interest and desire to expand into the Egyptian market referring to the recent agreement to establish a wind farm in the Gulf of Suez to generate wind power up to 250 megawatts, in which the company is part of an alliance of three companies.

Attendees of the meeting spoke positively regarding increasing cooperation between the company and the country, suggesting that the company would like to expand the circle of activity in Egypt during the next phase.

The meeting also discussed the project of establishing a petrochemical complex in Suez, where the technical and financial study provided by the company was discussed, considering that it is one of the large projects aiming at increasing the production of petrochemicals in Egypt with the aim of developing this industry to correspond with growing internal demand.


FILE – Prime Minister Engineer Sherif Ismail

Still, Toyota is not the only big player in the field.

Egypt’s automotive industry also includes a number of big players in the global automotive field. These include luxury vehicle companies like Mercedes-Benz Egypt and Jaguar MENA.

It also includes cars that are more suitable for specific types of transportation like Land Rover MENA and Suzuki, which have both been operating in Egypt, very successfully, for decades.

Similarly, Bavarian Auto Group, which has been operating since March 2003, is also a big player in the field. It is the sole importer of BMW and MINI in Egypt

Likewise, Ghabbour Group is one of the biggest manufacturers in Egypt. It sells different types of vehicles from passenger cars to pick-up trucks.

Hyundai Egypt and FAW Egypt are also big players in the field. The former is a Korean automaker, which also creates Kia. It is the world’s fourth largest automaker. The latter was the first company to manufacture cars in Egypt; it started in 1949.

The automotive sector in Egypt is on a rise after the decline it faced in 2015 as a result of the floatation of the Egyptian Pound. The recent interest in the sector is set to develop the automotive market in Egypt and move it towards becoming a regional hub.