Saudi- Car showrooms penalized

(MENAFN- Arab News) The Riyadh traffic police booked 91 car showrooms in the capital for violation of its regulations.

Riyadh Traffic Police Director Brig. Ali bin Abdullah Aldubekhi said the penalties included closure of showrooms suspension and imposition of fines.

'Two showrooms were fined for not possessing the required licenses for car sales' he said. He added that his department conducts regular inspections on these car showrooms which are involved in buying and selling cars and also helping buyers and sellers to transfer ownership of private vehicles.

He said that his team also seized 475 cars that were displayed outside the showrooms. According to traffic regulations cars for sale should be displayed inside showrooms. A maximum penalty of SR3000 has been imposed on these seized cars.

The Kingdom is currently the largest importer of vehicles and auto parts in the Middle East accounting for nearly 40 percent of all vehicle sales in the region. New car sales are slated to rise by 6.7 percent annually crossing the one million mark by 2020.

While demand has historically remained fixed on high-end models the Saudi market is experiencing a growing demand for smaller lower priced cars resulting from a burgeoning middle class.

Driving this demand for automobiles is the Kingdom's growing youth population rising levels of disposable income and greater public and private sector investment.

The government aims to meet this demand by attracting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to open facilities in the country while simultaneously developing an automotive industry of its own.