JEDDAH, 20 November 2002 — Saudi car market, estimated at more than SR13 billion ($3.46 billion), is expected to witness tough competition between companies to win new dealership of foreign automobile manufacturers, Al-Hayat newspaper reported yesterday quoting observers.
Al-Jomaih company has already taken the agencies of both Cadillac and Hummer in the Kingdom. Cadillac luxury cars have a good market in the country as many Saudi families prefer the American car. Hummer, which entered the market in 1994 and priced at SR400,000, has failed to make any considerable inroads.
Market sources told Al-Hayat that Al-Jomaih, the largest agent of General Motors in the Middle East, was also trying to win the dealership of Daewoo, whose present agent is Zahid Tractors. Al-Jomaih and Haji Husein Alireza, agent of Mazda and Mercury, are also vying to get the agency of Saab.
Korean Daewoo cars, which are popular in the Kingdom as they are available for comparatively low prices, have registered an annual sale of 6,000 units. On the other hand, Saab cars are relatively expensive and rarely seen on the Kingdom’s roads, the paper said.
There were moves by Al-Naghi, agent of BMW, to buy the agency of Land Rover as it offered SR90 million to relinquish the dealership but Al-Saif, the agent, refused to accept the offer.
Saudi Arabia is the largest car market in the Middle East with an annual growth rate of three to seven percent. There are more than seven million cars and buses on Saudi roads, according to official statistics.
The first quarter of last year witnessed import of 84,000 new and reconditioned cars at a total cost of SR5.4 billion. Japan, Germany and the United States top the list of car exporters to the Kingdom with imports from the three countries covering 65 percent of the market.
