INTERVIEW: Egypt remains key market for Goodyear’s MENA, Africa business
Goodyear, one of the world’s largest tire companies, has recently signed a partnership agreement with Ghabbour Foundation to fund the establishment of a state-of-the-art tire maintenance workshop at the Ghabbour Applied Technology School to support training on tire maintenance according to international standards. The move aimed at contributing to the Foundation’s mission of growing the pool of automotive talents.
In an exclusive interview with Berna Akinci, Director for Consumer Business for Emerging Markets at Goodyear, said talked about the company’s vision and its assessment of the Egyptian tire and automotive market.
Q: How do you assess Egypt’s tire and automotive market in the light of state plans of manufacturing electric vehicles here? We already heard about Goodyear’s launch of the first electric vehicle-ready tire compatible with EV and gas- or diesel-powered regional work vehicles.
Akinci: Egypt remains an important market for the company’s business in the Middle East and Africa region.
In terms of passenger cars, Egypt is a growing market – it is the second largest automotive market in Africa. With a young population who is keen to drive, we see opportunities with the growing number of premium cars in the local carparks, with a slowly but surely growing adoption of EVs among the drivers. This presents an exciting opportunity for us.
As a leading global mobility leader, Goodyear has been delivering high quality tires well known for their performance for 125 years. This makes us the perfect tire for a discerning population who looks for quality driving experiences.
In terms of passenger cars, I am proud to say that Goodyear offers a wide portfolio of EV-ready tires that enables the EV transition that is gaining momentum around the world.
Q: Can we know more about the cooperation protocol with Ghabbour Auto? Are there plans for more partnerships in the future with local players?
Akinci: Ghabbour Auto is a distributor of Goodyear tires in Egypt. Ghabbour Auto, is an established player in Egypt’s automotive industry. This supports our goal of delivering the right tire to the right driver in Egypt at the right time.
Q: What types of customers does Goodyear serve in the country?
Akinci: Goodyear is not only a leading global tire manufacturer; we are also a mobility enabler.
Goodyear tire solutions enables mobility for passenger cars and fleets, and also vehicles that operate off-the-road such as mining vehicles, in Egypt.
Q: What can we expect from Goodyear in the Middle East and Africa and Egypt in particular in the near future? What have you got planned?
Akinci: Goodyear continues to lead the industry with our advanced and innovative tire solutions.
Under our Better Future framework, we are growing our portfolio of EV-ready tires to ensure that Goodyear stands at the forefront to support the transition to a greener automotive future, taking place in around the world and in Egypt.
Our EV-ready portfolio includes the Eagle F1 Asymetric 6, which was recently awarded top honours in Auto Bild’s summer tire test. Our Asymetric 6, which is an ultra-high performance (UHP) tire performed better than 49 other products to tank top of the list in this prestigious test[i].
Egypt remains an important market for the company’s business in the Middle East and Africa region.
We are working with our partners, who are established in the local market, to ensure that we deliver the right tire to the right driver in Egypt at the right time.
This ensure that together, our partners and us achieve sustainable and profitable growth.
