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Car Sales Pick Up in Second Quarter

DUBAI — Car sales in the GCC region have picked up in the second quarter of 2009, continuing a trend which began to emerge in March, a report from AutoMiddleEast.com, an industry analysis firm said on Thursday.

As sales have climbed, confidence is beginning to return among distributors whose expectations for the first half have been turned on their head, the AutoMiddleEast.com GCC automotive report said.

The report confirmed that underlying economic conditions — marked by reduced but improving liquidity, low consumer confidence levels and restricted access to credit — continue to pose challenges for auto distributors. However, it said that problems faced by manufacturers will have little impact in the regional market.

In another sign of optimism in the industry, Arabian Automobiles, the exclusive dealer for Nissan, Infiniti and Renault brands, officially opened its largest showroom in the UAE on Thursday. Arabian Automobiles is part of the AW Rostamani Group; its new showroom is in Fujairah.

“The market has proved surprisingly resilient as distributors have proactively sought to look for new opportunities and ratcheted up marketing to chase market share,” said Pankaj Dev, AutoMiddleEast.com’s managing director.

“There are clear indications that some of the leading players are determined to take advantage of the current climate to build for the future and their marketing campaigns reflect this.”

At the top end of the market, Audi is reported as being ahead of the trend, and though overall sales are down on last year, its share of its market tier 
has grown.

“Considering the current economic climate, that’s a decent performance. We have slightly increased our market share. It is a tough time for the whole industry, but our outlook is very positive,” the report quoted an Audi spokesman as saying.

Audi’s main rival BMW saw its market share rise by 2 per cent in March even though its first-quarter sales were 9 per cent down on the comparable figure for the previous year. James Crichton, BMW Middle East’s sales and marketing director, said the fall was in line with expectations. Confirming that the luxury end of the market had been least affected, Daniel Redpath, Aston Martin’s Middle East spokesman, confirmed demand for the new DBS Auto had been healthy. “The Middle East continues to perform well for us,” he said. “We are approximately 20 per cent up on the same period 
Galadari, the exclusive distributor for Mazda in the UAE, expects sales to pick up in the second half of the year and also plans a marketing push to improve customer confidence. It hopes to maintain Mazda’s 2008 sales volume
 in 2009. Mazda will launch an SUV in the last quarter of 2009, which it expects to be popular, and several smaller cars are planned for the start of 2010, the report said.

· business@khaleejtimes.com