Life & Style | Motoring

GM records 6% rise in Middle East sales

General Motors Middle East on Tuesday announced that its sales increased six per cent from 30,673 in the first quarter of 2007 to 32,440 in the first quarter of 2008, in line with its plans to develop its market in the region.

  • By Suzanne Fenton, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:17 April 16, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: General Motors Middle East on Tuesday announced that its sales increased six per cent from 30,673 in the first quarter of 2007 to 32,440 in the first quarter of 2008, in line with its plans to develop its market in the region.

January saw record sales of 8,624 units while 10,258 units were sold in February and 13,558 units were sold in March.

Terry Johnsson, president of General Motors-Middle East Operations, said: "It says a lot for the high regard in which General Motors is held in the Middle East."

Johnsson said the increase in sales is partly due to the improvement in the availability of spare parts, as the company has invested $80 million in the customer service area.

He also said that full- sized SUVs brought over from the US are very popular in the region, and the weak state of the dollar gives the product a good value.

The automaker saw its Oman sales increasing 38 per cent. Its Kuwait sales increased 37 per cent while in the UAE, the sales jumped 35 per cent to 5,462 units.

In Bahrain, the sales increased 34 per cent while it saw a 27 per cent rise in the Levant, which includes Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

General Motors sold 17,580 units in Saudi Arabia, its biggest market, a seven per cent fall over 2007 figures. Iraq recorded the biggest increase in sales of 42 per cent. Qatar sales dropped 15 per cent.

Seven new car brands will be launched in the region this year, beginning in June. Two others will be launched in the first quarter of 2009.

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