BMW, GM, Toyota hit by Egypt unrest
Protesters against former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi wave national flags in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Wednesday prior to his ouster later in the day.
Photo credit: Reuters
Photo credit: Reuters
BMW and GM closed their sales and production units in the country today following yesterday's ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.
BMW expects "a full return to normal business and production in Egypt by Sunday," a spokeswoman in Europe said in an e-mail today.
BMW's local operations normally close on Friday and Saturday, which are the regular weekend days in the country, with the workweek starting on Sunday.
An e-mail to GM Egypt marketing and export manager Karim Tinawi resulted in an auto reply saying, "As a precautionary measure, GM Egypt will be closed today July 4th and we will resume on Sunday July 7th." Attempts to reach Tinawi by phone for more details were unsuccessful.
GM, which sells the Opel and Chevrolet brands in Egypt, has a complete knockdown plant in Cairo, as does Toyota, which maintained production throughout the period of unrest. Since last year Toyota has been building the Hilux-based Fortuner mid-sized SUV at the plant, which employs 700 people, according to the company's Web site.
While production never stopped, Toyota did shut down all of its dealerships from June 29 to July 1 but reopened on them on July 2.
"This was a precautionary measure taken by Toyota Egypt based on reports of upcoming large-scale demonstrations," a Toyota spokesman in Europe said in an e-mail today, adding that Toyota has had no damage to its 25 dealerships in the country and that overall car sales had not been affected despite the unrest.
A Renault spokeswoman said the company's business in the country, where it has 38 dealerships but no vehicle production, had not been affected by the unrest.
Calm returned to Cairo on Thursday after huge crowds had filled Tahrir Square, danced in the streets and held Egyptian flags aloft overnight to celebrate Morsi's downfall after days of mass protests.
Morsi's dramatic removal after a year in office marked another twist in the turmoil that has gripped the Arab world's most populous country in the two years since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. At least 14 people were killed and hundreds wounded in street clashes across Egypt on Wednesday. Morsi is in military custody, army and Muslim Brotherhood sources say.
Egypt is the third largest car-producing market in Africa after South Africa and Morocco. Automakers built 36,800 units in Egypt last year, down 31 percent from 2011, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.
Through April, Egypt's car sales were up 14 percent to 68,106 units, according to market researcher Focus2Move. Chevrolet was the country's top-selling brand with a four-month volume of 16,124, followed by Hyundai (10,510) with Toyota (6,798), Kia (5,435) and Renault (3,155) rounding out the top five, according to Focus2Move.
Reuters contributed to this report
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