Arab News, Mon, May 06, 2024 | Shawwal 27, 1445
Saudi Arabia’s car imports surge to 160k over last 2 years: official figures
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s car imports in 2023 hit 93,199, utilizing all modes of
transportation — land, sea, and air — reflecting nearly a 40 percent growth from
the previous year.
In the last two years, the Kingdom has imported a
total of over 160,000 cars, with 66,870 imports recorded in 2022 alone,
according to Hamoud Al-Harbi, the spokesperson for the Zakat, Tax, and Customs
Authority, reported Saudi Press Agency.
This positions Saudi Arabia as one of the largest
markets globally for automobiles, accounting for more than half of the car sales
in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and ranking among the top 20 markets
worldwide.
According to the authority’s spokesperson, cars
were primarily imported from Japan, India, South Korea, the US, and Thailand to
the Kingdom during the past two years.
Wael Al-Dhayyab, the official spokesperson for the
Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization, underscored the rigorous
efforts undertaken by the Vehicle Inspection Unit in 2023. They inspected 60,473
vehicles to uphold the highest technical and safety standards.
Concurrently, 18,150 energy efficiency
certificates were issued for tire products, highlighting SASO’s commitment to
ensuring tire quality and safety in the Saudi market.
Al-Dhayyab emphasized that these endeavors
demonstrate the organization’s dedication to enforcing stringent standards,
fostering tire quality, and safety.
Moreover, he stressed the body’s pivotal role in
advancing energy efficiency and endorsing initiatives aimed at enhancing product
safety and economic growth.
Additionally, Al-Dhayyab noted a significant
milestone in 2023, with SASO awarding 172 conformity certificates for electric
vehicles, witnessing a 465 percent surge from the previous year.
This emphasizes the organization’s crucial role in
facilitating the shift toward sustainable energy adoption.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the body issued
1,505 fuel efficiency cards for new light vehicles, indicating its commitment to
promoting eco-friendly transportation solutions.
The surge in the import of motor vehicles led to
Saudi banks witnessing a 7.67 percent increase in letters of credit to the
private sector in the first 11 months of 2023, compared to the same period the
previous year.
The data, released by the Saudi Central Bank,
revealed that settled LCs and received bills to this sector hit SR155.19 billion
($41.38 billion).
LCs, a financial document issued by a bank,
guarantee payment to the seller upon fulfilling specified conditions in a trade
transaction.
The growth is primarily attributed to an upsurge
in the import of motor vehicles, accounting for around 75 percent of the overall
increase.
The import value in this category reached SR39.7
billion, marking a 26.29 percent increase, the data showed.