Automobile sales in the UAE are expected to cross 355,000 units this year, a 14 per cent growth with the economy showing strong recovery and increasing population, a senior executive was quoted as saying in a report.

Speaking at the launch of the 2014 Tiida Hatchback, Michel Ayat, CEO of Arabian Automobiles, distributors of Nissan vehicles in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said in the Emirates 24/7 report that UAE is the fastest growing automobile market in the world, having grown 19 per cent in the first seven months of this year.

The new Tiida model comes with 1.6cc and 1.8cc engines and has been placed in the C-segment and contributes nine per cent of the total sales of C-segment in the UAE, he said, adding that the vehicle commands 32 per cent market share in its segment.

He said around 206,000 vehicles were sold by the end of July and the projection for the sales is higher than the peak sales volume achieved in 2008 when 347,900 units were sold in the country.

According to statistics revealed by the Ayat, the SUV segment registered the biggest growth of 25 per cent, followed by luxury cars (20 per cent) and passenger and commercial vehicles (both 16 per cent growth).

He claimed that the dealer’s sales jumped 23 per cent compared to 19 per cent surge in industry-wide sales, said the report.

GCC automobiles sales volume is estimated to reach 1.61 million this year as compared to 1.49 million sales last year, a growth of eight per cent, it added.