CAIRO — On June 9, an official source at Egypt’s Consumer Protection Agency revealed to al-Mal news website that the agency has asked car dealerships across the country to either explain their failure to deliver cars to citizens or issue refunds.

This comes amidst a crisis in the automotive industry in Egypt. It started on March 21 when the central bank decided to float the Egyptian pound, which incurred a loss of more than 17% of its value against the dollar. As a result, car showrooms and dealerships complained that cars are not delivered at the same price at which they were booked.

Head of the Consumer Protection Agency Aiman Hossam Eddine told Al-Monitor that the agency had issued a decision on April 19 obliging all car dealerships and suppliers to deliver the sold cars to customers before April 12 at the booking price and without any increases. Alternatively, they can refund the amounts with an 18% interest for that period, as per the decision. 

Hossam Eddine explained that this increase is in accordance with the highest interest rate on investment certificates, which was approved by the central bank after the depreciation of the pound against the dollar on March 21.