Overview of Saudi Arabia’s Automobile Market in 2022

Saudi Arabia’s automobile sales in 2022 increased by 12.3% from the previous year to 637,000 units. Although the increase was smaller than the previous year, it exceeded 600,000 units for the first time in six years. Toyota ranked first among all brands with sales increasing by 23.1% year on year to 198,000 units, expanding its market share by 2.7 points to 31.1%.

The government has set a goal of increasing automobile production in the country to 500,000 units by 2030. In response to that, global automakers have announced one after another to launch local vehicle production. Until now, only Isuzu Motors assembled around 10,000 units a year in Saudi Arabia, but local production by Lucid Motors, a new American EV manufacturer, began in September 2023. Furthermore, Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry and Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund established a BEV joint venture in November 2022.

Saudi Arabia also plans to launch its first automobile brand Ceer in 2025. However, as the country has no experience in large-scale automobile production, getting these projects off the ground will likely be a major challenge.