BTW, what's a 'bakkie'?
Also notice how much similar this article is to the one from Times of India posted a couple of days ago.
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Giveaway fuel spurs Gulf glut of gas-guzzlers
Custom-made Rolls-Royces, stretched Hummers and bright red Maseratis line the entrance to Dubai's Mall of the Emirates where the spoils from oil sales are feeding a buying frenzy among the wealthy.
It's the other face of what a five-fold spike in crude prices since 2002 has done for automakers whose sales of big, fuel-thirsty vehicles are tanking in the West.
Far from feeling the pinch at the pump, drivers in the Gulf Arab region have been enjoying booming economies and government-subsidised petrol costing less than a rand a litre.
No official statistics are available but automakers expect the combined car and bakkie market of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates to have grown by about 10 percent to 1.2-million vehicles by the end of 2008.
While that would only make the market equal in size to South Korea or Australia, automakers are increasingly finding the region a haven from their difficulties elsewhere.
With mature markets in Europe, the US and Japan shrinking, and even China and India not living up to expectations, Morgan Stanley forecasts global car sales will dip by 0.3 percent this year.
Terry Johnsson, Middle East MD for GM, said: "The Gulf market is unique and quite attractive - there's high growth and a rich mix."
Climbing sales are just one of the region's many attractions. Because there's no local automaker it has few regulatory restrictions and the import tariffs is only five percent. Car companies can simply ship in their products without worrying about a wide range of models or local content requirements.
In Saudi Arabia, the Gulf's biggest car market, buyers like their cars and SUV's to be as big as they come, in stark contrast to the US now-expensive petrol is pushing buyers towards hybrids and small, fuel-efficient models.
"There's good demand for big SUV's and pick-ups that people don't want in the US or Europe," says Tim Armstrong, director of emerging auto markets at Global Insight, noting growing supply from the US and Thailand.
Replacement demand is also high because the scorching heat, sand storms and rough driving mean vehicles don't last for long.
CHEVS ARE POPULAR
The oil-rich region is a big market for super-luxury cars for its wealthy locals but the fastest growth is occurring at the low end. As the local mass market gets richer with strong economic growth and expatriates flow in to work on development projects, brisk demand for cheap, small cars is what GM and Hyundai are counting on to challenge Japanese automakers, which control 70 percent of the market.
Thanks to the popularity of Chevrolet-badged cars built by Seoul-based GM Daewoo, GM was ranked No.2 in GCC sales behind Toyota in 2007. Hyundai was fifth behind Nissan and Mitsubishi but ahead of Honda.
"What we'll need for the future is a car in the very small segment," said Atsuo Kosaka, general manager of Nissan's Middle East department.
"That's the fastest-growing segment, especially in Saudi Arabia, where a lot of young people are coming of age to buy their first car." - Reuters
http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fSe ... Id=4597671
