400 companies from 16 countries participate at AUTOMECH MOTOR-SHOW 2008

29.5.2008 / Cairo /


Egypt is hosting two motor-shows each year. One of them is the AUTOMECH AKHBAR EL YOM Motor-show, one of the leading annual trade fair for vehicles, buses, motorcar workshops, service station equipment, automobile spare parts, accessories and feeding industries in the MENA region. AutoMech will have 400 international companies from 16 countries exhibiting their latest models and products and is expecting to welcome almost half a million visitors to 40,000 square meters of exhibition space during its run from June 05 to June 09, 2008, at the Cairo International Fair Ground, Cairo, Egypt.

More than 90 per cent of the world’s major automotive companies operating in Egypt will highlight their products and services during the 13th edition of AUTOMECH, including Toyota, Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes Benz, MINI, Brilliance, Jaguar, Maserati, Land Rover, Lincoln, Ford, Hyundai, Subaru, Suzuki, Nissan, Renault, Komodo, Skoda, Fiat, Esperanza, Bentley, Ferrari, KIA, Daihatsu, Honda, Chevrolet, and Opel. Several Chinese automotive manufacturers will also display their new car brands at the event.
Some of the car highlights will be the new compact SUV from Volkswagen, the Tiguan, which has already proved to be better than the BMW X3 in several comparison tests in Germany. Since the Made-In-Germany Tiguan will start at 230.000 LE (Egyptian Pounds) it’s already more than confirmed that the Made-In-Egypt BMW X3 (starting at 430.000 LE) will face a very tough time in Egypt after the AutoMech Show.
This is the first re-appearance of Mercedes-Benz Egypt in an Egyptian motor-show for several years now. Mercedes Benz Egypt and Chrysler Egypt were heavily criticized in English- and Arabic-speaking media recently for adopting a bizarre marketing and business-development policy of not participating in Egyptian motor-show and instead of that organize internal customers events only.
Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart reacted immediately to this criticism and ‘asked’ Mercedes Benz in Egypt to change their exhibition-policy. But it seems that the Chrysler Egypt’s marketing department is still convinced with its ‘light’ desert trips for Egyptian media and ‘funny’ customer events for already existing Chrysler- and Jeep-owners.


Another highlight will be the impressive sports car Nissan GT-R, which is expected to be launched on the Nissan stand as well. Nissan had developed this sports-car to compete directly with the legendary Porsche 911 Carrera.

Hany Khafagy, Director of Car Division, AUTOMECH, said, “The presence of the majority of leading automotive companies in AUTOMECH highlights the importance of this much-awaited annual industry event. We are particularly pleased with the participation of Mercedes, which is one of the key accomplishments of this year’s edition. Visitors and buyers can also look forward to significant product launches to the Egyptian market during the event.”


“This event provides a significant platform for all members of the automotive manufacturing and services sectors to expand their business operations in the region; it provides opportunities for appointing regional distributors and networking with present and future partners. AUTOMECH is a particularly important venue for the spare parts and feeding sectors, as offers the chance to interact with the world’s top industry manufacturers and service providers,” added Hamdy Mashaal, Director of Spare Parts Division of AUTOMECH.

AUTOMECH 2008 will reflect the event’s continuously expanding global reach this year. Some countries such as China, Turkey, and Thailand show keen interest in regional market and share with large pavilions in AUTOMECH. The Chinese pavilion will feature 58 companies, while Turkey will be represented by 10 exhibitors. Thailand will showcase the products of 17 local companies.

AUTOMECH AKHBAR EL YOM is organized by ACG-ITF, a leading organizer of international trade exhibitions in the MENA region. AUTOMECH was inaugurated in 1996 and has been held in partnership with renowned Arab media company Akhbar El Yom Establishment since 2001. AUTOMECH 2008 will include exhibitors from Germany, France, China, the Czech Republic, Romania, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, the US last but not least host country Egypt.

“AUTOMECH continues to maintain a strong industry following due to its major influence on the Middle Eastern automotive sector. This event will showcase the latest industry technologies and innovations, while providing an excellent platform for international manufacturers and suppliers to interact with buyers from Egypt, the Middle East and Africa. The show achieved a regional record for automotive show visitors last year, as 420,000 visitors attended the event, including more than 18,000 traders. We expect this year’s edition to surpass 2007’s already strong performance,” concluded Medhat Ghozzi, Vice President, ACG-ITF.

The direct consumer division of the show will also witness attractions such as special offers by some companies for visitors, as well as discounts on installments provided by some agents, and special incentives and programs for car loans.