The Gulf region’s automotive spare parts market has an annual value of over $11 billion, released Epoc Messe Frankfurt, the trade fair company organizing the Dubai automotive aftermarket exhibition Automechanika.
The Middle East has one of the highest cars-per-household ratios in the world and the increasing number of vehicles on the road has created a substantial demand for garage and forecourt equipment for the service industry.
According to the German company, Dubai’s automotive accessories re-export trade is growing at a rate of 20 percent annually. Auto parts are one of the ten top re-exported items from the Emirate.
The Arabian Gulf is a significantly lucrative market for the automobile industry. The luxury car market alone is expected to grow by 3.5 percent annually giving rise to an increasing demand for spare parts. Kuwait is a prime example of a high-value market where luxury cars at the top-end category are in heavy demand and one in every two people owns a car.
High-consumption markets such as Saudi Arabia, where the total number of automobile units sold per year exceeds 100,000 units, presents enormous and untapped opportunities for automobile manufacturers. The number of cars on United Arab Emirates (UAE) roads is also increasing at an average rate of 9.6 percent per year.
The growing number of automobiles on the Middle East roads has brought about a corresponding increase in the demand for after sales service and genuine spare parts. There are more than 20,000 garages and motor workshops in the Gulf alone. An estimated two billion dollars has been spent in the past two years on petrol stations and forecourt equipment in the Gulf. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
