Saudi Arabia is by far the most populous country within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC, a six-nation economic bloc) and has the largest automotive market. Large fuel subsidies and limited public transport options also contribute to high demand for cars.
Estimates of the size of the sector vary, but in mid-2012 the National Commercial Bank (NCB), the country's largest bank, stated that total car sales were worth SR49.6bn (US$13.2bn) in 2011. However, with Saudi Arabia importing SR77bn worth of cars in 2012 and economic growth remaining robust, this number will probably have been surpassed in subsequent years.
The automotive production base is small: a few firms serve as assemblers for foreign commercial vehicle manufacturers. However, it is set to expand, with Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) exploring setting up a facility in the kingdom, and several US and Asian manufacturers also expressing an interest in constructing assembly plants in the country.

Automotive report 2

Overview 2

Passenger cars 2

Commercial and other vehicles 5

Production 6

Fuel sources 8

Industry publishing schedule 10

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