"I expect substantial increase in car sales in the Kingdom driven by its strong economy and rising oil prices," said Ali Alireza, managing director of Haji Husein Alireza Co. in a statement published by Al-Madinah daily.

Industry analysts had earlier predicted that by 2013, car sales in the Kingdom would hit 880,000 units a year, a 50 percent increase on 2008 levels.

Alireza did not favor the idea of establishing car factories in Saudi Arabia, saying it would not be successful. "Before having car factories, we should have factories for car spare parts," he pointed out.

Alireza was speaking on the sidelines of the Saudi International Motor Show, which was opened on Nov. 19 and continued for five days, drawing a large number of exhibitors and visitors.

While the Japanese cars took center stage at the exhibition, the display of Korean and Chinese brands including Geely, BYD and Lifan attracted a sizable number of visitors.

"I am attracted by some of these Korean and Chinese cars because of their price competitiveness," said Sarah Jamal, a Saudi housewife. "I am going to recommend one of these cars to my husband," she added.

Alireza's company is the local exclusive dealer of Geely Holding Group's Geely cars. They launched China-made "Geely & Geely Emgrand" cars earlier this year.

The exhibition gave a good opportunity for those looking for new cars. "I need to change my car, and this show gives me an opportunity to take a close look at all the brands and enable me to finalize the car," said Abdul Aziz Al-Ghamdi, a businessman and member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Citroen, Suzuki, Toyota, Prestige Motor World, and the Chinese brands that participated in the launch and reveal show said they were grateful to the organizers for providing them a platform for displaying their cars.

Toyota displayed its full line-up. "The exhibition is a chance for us to interact with customers from different age groups and backgrounds. Therefore we showed our full lineup to cater to each market segment displaying our latest 2012 models," said Faisal Abdullah, vice president of Abdul Latif Jameel Co. (ALJ).

This year's highlights were Toyota's latest FT-86 concept car and the reveal of the all-new Camry 2012 model for the first time to the Saudi public.

On display at the show were small cars from different world manufacturers at a time when the Saudi market continues to expand with rising incomes leading consumers to purchase more cars for their families, a trend which is particularly good for the small car market. "The emphasis on small cars is a welcome feature for customers like me," said Adnan Tamimi, a Saudi automobile technician."

It is against the automobile sector's promising backdrop that Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions will organize the 34th edition of SIMS from Dec. 17-21, 2012.