Saudi Arabia will hold the lion’s share of cars on GCC roads, with 10.03 million vehicles by 2020 – a figure comprising 52.5% of the entire regional market according to a recent report.
Saudi Arabia’s thriving auto aftermarket trade, valued at nearly USD 2.6 billion in 2015, has attracted the attention of global manufacturers, as they lay down plans to grow their business interests at the Kingdom’s dedicated aftermarket industry trade show.
Figures released by Saudi’s General Authority for Statistics provide a graphic sketch of the importance of the Kingdom’s vast auto aftermarket. In 2015, Saudi imported USD 2.53 billion worth of auto parts and accessories, passenger and commercial vehicle tyres, and batteries, while re-exports in the same year was worth USD 51 million.
Parts and accessories was the largest import product group, valued at USD 996.5 million, followed by passenger car tyres (USD 715.5 million), tyres for trucks and lorries (USD 615.3 million), and automotive batteries (USD 209.7 million).
Asian producers Japan and South Korea featured predominantly as major source countries, with 64 per cent of batteries coming from South Korea. Japan was the largest source country for passenger tyres (30 per cent of imports) while it also led the way in parts and accessories (24 per cent of imports), followed by South Korea (15 per cent) the USA (15 per cent), Germany (10 per cent), and France (7 per cent).
