New Market Study Published: Saudi Arabia Autos Report Q3 2012

Fast Market Research recommends "Saudi Arabia Autos Report Q3 2012" from Business Monitor International, now available

by Bill Thompson

(WireNews+Co) - Boston, MA - 18 October 2012

In May 2012, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Al-Amoudi Group announced that it is to establish the country's first tyre plant by 2015. This development, when added to previously-announced projects such as Isuzu Motor's plan to be constructing some 25,000 trucks locally by end-2012, builds the case for a developing autos hub within the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia already tops BMI's Risk/Reward Ratings for the autos sector in the Middle East and North Africa, but we believe that the development of a larger autos production hub within the country should allow it to score even higher in the years ahead.

According to Al-Amoudi, the project will require investment of SAR900mn (US$240mn) and should create 600 jobs. BMI believes that this project represents a sound endorsement of the government's policy of supporting the autos sector as one of the industries to lead the diversification of the Saudi economy away from its over-reliance on the oil industry. With this in mind, the company also emphasised that priority would be given to young Saudis to undertake training programmes to work at the plant.

View Full Report Details and Table of Contents (http://www.fastmr.com/prod/451373_saudi_arabia_autos_report_q3_2012.aspx) (http://www.fastmr.com/prod/451373_saudi_arabia_autos_report_q3_2012.aspx)

Based in Yanbu Industrial City, the Advanced Tire Factory is due to open in 2015 with an annual production capacity of 1.8mn tyres. While the majority of output will be allocated to the domestic market, it will also serve other markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and North Africa. The tyres will be produced to meet European and US standards, which addresses the push by governments and carmakers alike in the region to increase the use of genuine parts to improve safety. The tyres should also be competitively priced by being produced locally.

Although mass vehicle production in Saudi Arabia remains some way off, the establishment of the Kingdom's first ever tyre plant is supportive of BMI's view that a strong supplier network is required in order to create a viable auto production hub in the coming decade.

Looking at recent sales data, a total of 164,209 new cars were sold in Saudi Arabia over Q112, an increase of 10% year-on-year (y-o-y). The best-seller on the Saudi market over the first three months of 2012 was Toyota Motor's Hilux, which has sold 15,108 units for an overall market share of 9.2%. In second place was the Toyota Corolla on 11,751 units (7.2%), followed by Hyundai's Accent on 11,601 (7.1%).

This positive start to the year bodes well for overall new vehicle sales (passenger cars + commercial vehicles) reaching BMI's forecast of 706,697 units for 2012. Beyond the current year, we continue to be optimistic on the evolution of new vehicle sales, which we see approaching the 1mn unit per annum mark by the end of our forecast period in 2016.

Fast Market Research (http://www.fastmr.com) is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff will help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget. For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.