JEDDAH, 25 March 2004 — The demand of German cars has declined in response to the rise of the euro against the greenback. Muhammad Sharbatli, executive manager of Samaco group, told the Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper that sales have fallen by 20 percent on new cars priced up to SR70,000.
The increase in prices has mostly affected the middle-income customers. Al-Sharbatli said that he had managed to reach an agreement with the mother company to disengage from euro and use the dollar in order to guarantee price stability in the area. The company will make the change next July.