Car sales streets ahead as Toyota accelerates

Al-Futtaim Motors, one of the biggest car dealerships in the UAE, increased its Toyota sales by 27 per cent in the first six months of the year. Pawan Singh / The National

Al-Futtaim Motors, one of the biggest car dealerships in the UAE, increased its Toyota sales by 27 per cent in the first six months of the year, joining industry peers in reporting eye-watering figures.

The Japanese brand's stellar performance parks it nicely alongside Ford and General Motors (GM), which also both enjoyed double-digit growth in sales.

Brands' premium cars were the first to show heady sales growth in the first half of the year, as the automotive sectorflourishes in the UAE.

"The first indication that things are going well is that premium car sales increase," said Bill Carter, an analyst at Autodata Middle East. "The fact is the whole market is up. I think we will end up with a really good year."

Analysts estimate that Toyota, which is the market leader, sold about 80,000 cars last year in the Emirates, despite experiencing supply problems from Japan in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami in March last year.

A 27 per cent increase in sales for the whole year would mean the brand would have sold more than 100,000 cars.

"We had several car launches in the past six months, including the market-leading 4x4 Land Cruiser," said Andy Squires, the general manager for Toyota sales, operations and marketing at Al-Futtaim Motors. "We have also recently launched Toyota 86, the best sports car from Toyota in decades."

He added customers were more closely monitoring fuel consumption and environmental issues had increased in importance.

Al-Futtaim Motors Toyota is the latest brand to release eye-watering sales numbers, indicating a buoyant market and growing consumer confidence, particularly among Emiratis.

The reporting season kicked off with BMW and Audi indicating they had their best first-half sales performances ever across the Middle East.

Emirates Motor Company, part of Al Fahim Group, also reported their best sales ever in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Jaguar Land Rover increased its sales 36 per cent in the Middle East in the year up to March, compared with the previous fiscal year.

"The popularity of Jaguar Land Rover in this region is reflected in our strong sales performance," said Justin Weaving, the regional sales director for Jaguar Land Rover Middle East and North Africa.

"Notable market performers include the UAE, which continues to be our best-selling market in this region for Land Rover."

Ford and Lincoln retail sales were up 38 per cent during the first half of the year in the UAE, compared to last year, Ford Middle East said last week.

GM, which sells Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC cars, also said sales in the Emirates increased 11 per cent in the same period.

"Most of the people we are talking to are saying things are good and that they are more than happy with the way that the market is going," said Mr Carter.

Many car dealerships were offering cheap financing options at the start of the year to drum up business as banks became more willing to lend to buyers.

Al-Futtaim Motors was offering customers initial loans at 1.99 per cent interest for many of its Toyota models in the first quarter.

The company's Honda unit, which was one of the brands hardest hit by the Japanese earthquake last year, also said supplies were back on track and sales were up.

"Honda sales are up year on year despite the acute shortage of stocks following the catastrophic events in 2011 in namely Japan and Thailand," said Mark Kass, the regional managing director for Honda at Al-Futtaim Motors. "However, I am pleased to report that stocks have normalised whereby we envisage a buoyant second half to 2012."

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