• Home
• /
• Local business

UAE auto imports
 indicate rebound

A Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry report indicates modest improvement in auto sales but positive expectations for smaller and fuel efficient models

With consumers remaining to be cautious, improvements in auto sales are expected to remain modest in the short-term. Positive expectations, however, prevail over the medium to long-term, especially for smaller and fuel efficient models.

The report further indicated that vehicles form one of the largest product imports of the UAE; both for meeting local demand and for re-export.

Japan dominates UAE’s import market for the products. Imports from the country accounted for 39.3 per cent of the total group imports
 in 2008.

The study revealed that exports of the leading suppliers of vehicles to the UAE started to show signs of rebound in early 2010.

Compared to the record high in 2008, Japan’s exports of the products declined by 64 per cent in 2009, and continued a monthly decline of 20 per cent in January 2010. However, the following month witnessed a reversal in trend by 5 per cent; which was eventually followed by a substantial monthly growth of 71 per cent in March.

Comparatively, recovery of Germany’s exports of the products to UAE was more pronounced. From an annual decline of 46 per cent in 2009, rate of monthly changed reversed from -38 per cent in January 2010 to growths of 35 per cent and 30 per cent in the next two months.

The US also showed signs of recovery, with March 2010 exports rallying by 29 per cent over the previous month’s value, following a nearly constant value from December 2009 to February 2010, and an annual decline of 55 per cent in 2009.

Australia’s export to the UAE in 2009 was lower by 65 per cent compared to the peak level recorded in 2008. The decline continued in the first month of 2010, when export value was lower by 55 per cent than the corresponding value in the previous month. Monthly growth began to be recorded in February, with a 56 per cent growth and into March, for a 20 per cent growth.

On the other hand, recovery of China’s exports for the products to the UAE was slow. It declined by 43 per cent in 2009, and continued the declining trend monthly until March 2010, when a slight increase of about one per cent was recorded.

South Korea’s growing strength in the UAE market is evident in the speed at which signs of recovery were noted. After posting a 62 per cent decline in 2009, January exports represented a 76 per cent increase over the previous month’s value, while the slight dip of 4 per cent in February was immediately followed by a 19 per cent increase
 in March.

Although UK’s exports had ceased to decline in February 2010, no significant increase has been noted after the annual slump of 59 per cent in 2009 and a monthly decline of 36 per cent in the beginning of 2010. 


abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com