Commercial Vehicles sales in upward drive - TATA, IVECO, Renault, Liberty Automobiles among major players for industry showcase event in Dubai as market heads for more regional growth
Sales of commercial vehicles in key markets in the Middle East and North Africa showed significant growth last year, and healthy ongoing forecasts point to the regional recovery gaining momentum.
Leading the way is Egypt, where commercial vehicles sales in 2010 rose to 54,170 units from 47,721 in 2009, an increase of 13%. The figure is expected to rise by 21% to 65,841 units in 2011, with growth of 58% to 104,477 units predicted by 2014.
According to research information gathered by Streamline Marketing Group, organisers of the specialist trade exhibition, Commercial Vehicles Middle East, commercial vehicles sales in Saudi Arabia grew by five per cent from 116,398 units in 2009 to 122,275 last year. An increase of almost 7% to 130,616 units is forecast for this year, this figure rising by 31% to 171,274 by 2014.
In Kuwait, commercial vehicle sales last year amounted to 32,494 units with a value of US$1.71 billion, compared with 32,029 units worth US$1.67 billion in 2009. Projections are for growth to 33,046 units this year, and to 36,889 by 2015.
Indications are that an industry hit hard by the global financial crisis is moving into prosperous times, and the mood of optimism was emphasised today with confirmation that four major players - TATA Motors, Renault Trucks, IVECO, and , Liberty Automobiles - have joined the line-up of exhibitors for the second edition of Commercial Vehicles Middle East at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 14-16.
Liberty Automobiles , the General Motors dealer for Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer and Opel, is certain to come under the show spotlight as the company will be using the event to showcase the world's first electric zero emission bus, along with a lineup of their newly acquired franchise-OTOKAR buses from Turkey.
Meanwhile, TATA, the world's fourth largest manufacturer of medium to heavy commercial vehicles and the second largest bus manufacturer, will be launching a new range of vehicles into the Middle East from a 350 sqm stand.
"Commercial Vehicles Middle East provides us with the opportunity to open new business avenues and to tap into the growing market of commercial vehicles in the region," said Murari Trivedi, Regional Manager, TATA Motors. "We plan to showcase our wide range of products and launch new products at the show, to strengthen our position in the Middle East markets."
The exhibition brings together the largest annual gathering of transport, fleet and logistics decision makers from every sector of the region's road transport business. This is a major draw for Renault Trucks, which uses a network of 25 dealerships, 40 service points and mobile workshops to cover 18 countries across the region and will have a strong presence both in the indoor exhibition hall and the outdoor display area.
One of the heavyweights of the global transport world, IVECO, which has 74 dealers, 13 satellite locations and 139 sales points across the Middle East and North Africa region, will be another of the most prominent exhibitors in Dubai where it too will be launching new products.
The company boasts a vast range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, and also manufactures passenger transport vehicles and special vehicles for defence, civil protection and specific missions like fire-fighting.
Commercial Vehicles Middle East covers all types of heavy and light commercial vehicles, special vehicles, vehicle attachments, accessories, maintenance and repair services. The event was launched last year to position the UAE as a regional focal point for the commercial vehicles industry in the region.
"This was already a thriving business in the Middle East, and despite the economic downturn everything pointed to a great deal of expansion as the market recovered, which is what we are now seeing," said Nick Webb, Director of Streamline Marketing Group.
In the UAE and other parts of the region, the expansion of public bus services is more good news for commercial vehicle manufacturers. A total of 39 million passengers used buses operated by the Department of Transport (DOT) in Abu Dhabi by the end of the third quarter of 2010, an increase of 16 million passengers over the same period last year, and the DOT will continue to expand its bus fleet as it continues to develop the capital's transport infrastructure.
Commercial Vehicles Middle East features a Hosted Buyer and Matchmaking Programme exclusively for exhibitors to meet procurement delegations from the region's top buyers.
This article was originally posted on Nigeria Business Communities
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