Gulf auto sales slow down

Gulf auto industry is facing their worst upset in the last three years as the new vehicle sales continued to slump in the first six months of this year.

UAE sales remained the lowest for the first six months since 2009, while in Bahrain, sales continue to be under extreme pressure as the retail sector reels from the recent upheaval, reported Gulf News.

However, the regional giant Saudi Arabia, as in other sectors continue to show good signs progress. The first half of the year in Saudi have been promising and the industry sources believe the second half would be better in the wake of the government's recent cash bonus payments for nationals.

Optimistic industry sources speculate the first half new vehicle sales could reach 500,000 unit mark with a little push but most believer the figure would be somewhere around 400,000 units.

"May was exceptionally slow for car sales in the UAE, and the first ten days of June have not been too hot either with the financing being quite tight," Gulf News quoted a sales manager with a leading Japanese manufacturer based in the Jebel Ali Free Zone.

While Saudi Arabia has shown some consistency through the first half, Kuwait saw spurts of activity helped on by the government's social support programmes over the last few months. Similarly, Oman and Qatar have also seen small gains of between 5 and 10 per cent during the same period.

However, Bahrain has been the biggest loser with the automotive market going down by 50 to 70 per cent in the country compared with the first half of last year.

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