Research and Markets recently announced the addition of the "Saudi Arabia Autos Report Q1 2012" report to their offering.

According to the report, Business Monitor International (BMI) estimates that 2011 will have seen a 7 percent year-on-year increase in sales in 2011, to a total of 688,883 units.

"We forecast the market will remain stable throughout the forecast period with growth hovering between 7.5-9.5 percent a year to the end of the forecast period in 2016, when annual sales should total over 1 million units a year. Throughout the period we forecast that the Kingdom will record steady economic growth and vehicle ownership will open up to a wider portion of society," the report said.

It added: “Saudi Arabia is a leading market for high-value and prestige automobiles and although we expect this trend to continue, it is evident that there is growth at the other end of the new car market. In 2010, sales of new smaller cars increased by 25 percent and as the benefits of economic growth filter down to people in lower income levels, we expect to see this market to continue to grow.”

This may be aided by the recent government regulation banning the import of used car parts, which came into force on Nov. 26, 2011.

As used spare parts are taken off the market, the attraction of buying higher value second-hand vehicles is likely to fall and as a result, more people are likely to buy smaller but new cars.