Suzuki Saudia, the sole distributor of Suzuki vehicles in Saudi Arabia and part of Bamarouf Group, has reported a 5 per cent growth in sales and an 8 per cent revenue increase for the first half of 2009.

The solid performance came amidst a global auto market downturn that was triggered by the 2003-2008 fuel crisis and worsened by the emergence of the global financial crisis in the second half of 2008, said a company spokesperson.

“Automobile companies from Asia, Europe and North America have been shifting their business strategies to enhance the sales figures and statuses. The situation is very different in Saudi Arabia, which represents the largest vehicle market in the Middle East,' said Maher Al Nabawi, deputy general manager, Suzuki Saudia.

'Japanese automobile brands account for almost two-thirds of local sales. And due to the success of the Suzuki 'SX4', 'Swift' and 'Grand Vitara' as well as other categories, we achieved successful figures during the first half of 2009.'

The Suzuki SX4 five-door sedan led the 1st half sales, achieving a 27 per cent growth over 2008 for the same period. The Swift compact car came second at 15 per cent, followed by the Grand Vitara at 5 per cent. The high demand for Suzuki’s vehicles within the Saudi market was achieved due to its safety and economic features among other vehicle brands in the kingdom.
 
Suzuki Saudia has been educating its personnel as well as after-sales representatives across the region on key technical aspects of Suzuki models, especially those that are newly launched. This prepares trainees to fully meet customer expectations and needs.

The dealership posted a 117.7 per cent growth in the kingdom’s automobile sales in 2007 over the prior year. Its latest model, the five-door Celerio, managed to gain a 60 per cent share in the domestic compact car market just a few months after it was introduced to the country in June.-TradeArabia News Service