Mideast a major market for Australian auto sector

The Middle East is now the biggest single export market for the Australian auto industry, according to General Motors.

GM Australia alone has exported 70,000 vehicles to the region in the past four years, and the Middle East features prominently in its target to hit annual exports of 50,000 units by 2004.

The Chevrolet Caprice has had a huge following in the Middle East since the first version appeared here 35 years ago, and this has been sustained since the resumption of imports in 2000 of the newest models, according to Paul Johnson, GM's regional managing director.

He underlined the growing regional popularity of the Caprice, saying that sales for 2001 amounted to 10,600 and represented more than 20 percent of GM's record volumes for the year.

Since the Middle East launch of the Chevrolet Lumina, it has become firmly established as the leading car in the six-cylinder midsize sector, ending 30 years of Japanese domination.

It is the only vehicle in the history of General Motors in the Middle East to sell more than 2,000 units in a single month. Total sales during 2001 reached 11,500 - more than double the 1999 figure and accounting for well over 20 per cent of GM's all-vehicle sales for the year.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim-Mohammed Al Tuniji, a school supervisor in Abu Dhabi, went straight to the top of the class when he decided to buy a new Chevrolet Caprice.

The 29-year-old from Ras Al Khaimah turned out to be the 60,000th customer in the Middle East for the Caprice and its Chevrolet stablemate, the Lumina, since General Motors began importing them from GM Australia in 1998.

On hand at Al Yousuf Motors' showroom in Dubai to congratulate Al Tuniji was Paul Johnson and a delegation from the company's regional office.

Also present was the Aus-tralian minister for trade, Mark Vaile, who was on a visit Dubai.
Al Tuniji was presented with a Caprice accessories kit.

"I drive every day from Ras Al Khaimah to Abu Dhabi and back, so I needed a car I could rely on and one that would give me long service," said Al Tunji.

"That's why I chose the Chevrolet Caprice LTZ after comparing it with competitors. I'm happy that it will give me the long-term security on the road that I'm looking for."