Car sales in the UAE are again running at new record levels this year thanks to a surge in new residents, with tax exiles and refugees from the Arab Spring leading the influx. Al Habtoor Motors reported a surge in Bentley sales from 165 to 310 this year. Overall UAE car sales are up 30 per cent so far on 2011, also a record year.
This sort of growth in local car sales has not been seen since the UAE stock market boom year of 2005. It compares with declining sales in Europe and growth of a little over eight per cent in the China and US, though total US car sales are still below pre-crisis levels.
Many buyers
It is not only the rich who are buying cars. Arabian Automobiles sold some 3,400 Nissan Altimas in the UAE so far this year, up 33 per cent on the same period last year. People are moving into the country, mainly to Dubai and buying a car is an instant priority as public transport remains inadequate.
Record sales for BMW and Mini have been achieved across the Middle East for the first nine months of the year with a total of 15,805 vehicles sold in 14 markets – a 15 per cent increase over the same period last year.
BMW Group made gains in all GCC markets except Bahrain, though the UAE accounted for 48 per cent of sales during the first nine months of the year.
Deals on wheels
Outside the UAE governments have also been raising public sector salaries and one of the first things people seem to do after getting a pay rise is to buy a new car. However, the biggest impact has been in the emirates where the nation’s safe haven status has attracted new residents at all levels of affluence.
Record oil revenues have helped to support record levels of public spending in the Gulf States with expenditure up 20-30 per cent in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The UAE is also restarting many major projects, albeit on a much smaller scale than in the boom years.
How long this recovery will last is a hot debate among business leaders. But for the meantime the car showrooms and real estate market both indicate that the economic good times are back for the moment at least.
