Proton Saga CKD production to start in Egypt in Dec – assembly by ESAF; first 120 CKD packs shipped out

Proton has announced that the Saga will be locally assembled (CKD) in Egypt by Ezz Elsewedy Automotive Factories (ESAF), which formed a partnership with local distributor Ezz Elarab last November. With investments amounting to over USD15 million (about RM65 million), the CKD project is said to have a production capacity reaching 50,000 units in the coming years.

Today’s announcement also saw the first 120 CKD packs of the Saga being shipped to Egypt, a left-hand drive market that welcomed Proton cars again November 2018. Currently, only the Saga is sold in Egypt, with three variants of the facelifted sedan offered there since December 2020 – the cars were previously fully imported (CBU) from Malaysia.

“Export sales are an important area of focus for Proton in our efforts to achieve our long-term goals. As the Malaysian automotive market reaches a natural saturation point, future volume growth potential will come from overseas markets where consumer demand is expected to be on an upward trend in the future. The addition of CKD operations in Egypt brings the number of plants involved in CKD and SKD activities for Proton outside of Malaysia to five,” said Roslan Abdullah, deputy CEO of Proton.

The start of CKD operations in Egypt will allow Proton to leverage on the country as a regional hub for producing cars to be sold in Middle Eastern North Africa (MENA) region, which is something that was mulled for quite some time.

The project is also in line with Egypt’s Automotive Industry Development Programme (AIDP) launched last November, which aims to promote CKD assembly while severely cutting down on CBU imports. Proton has been present in Egypt since 2004, with nearly 17,000 CBU units exported to the country in that time. In 2024, it is estimated that 1,400 units will be shipped there, and with local assembly set to start in December this year, the targeted sales volume of the Saga in Egypt is expected to increase to 5,000 units for 2025.

“Locally assembling the Proton Saga in Egypt allows the company to meet the aim of the Egyptian government to limit the number of CBU imports into the country while also encouraging local assembly activities. This in turn creates the potential for greater future capacity expansion in the country, especially after we launch new models, with the aim to make Egypt the hub for Proton vehicle exports in the North African region,” said Steven Xu, Proton’s director of international sales.

For the first three years up to the end of 2026, Proton forecasts a revenue of RM570 million from exporting CKD packs to Egypt, with a further RM20 million projected as revenue from parts export activities. Meanwhile, local Egyptian economy is expected to earn up to RM180 million in duties and taxes from the assembly of Proton vehicles in the country.

Proton now has five overseas CKD and SKD projects under its belt, including in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Egypt. The company aims to grow its export quantity to 10,000 units in the coming years. According to Xu, Proton’s director of international sales, the company exported about 5,000 cars in 2022 and has a presence in 20 countries.

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