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America’s leading automotive aftermarket players are queuing up to acquire a major share of the Middle East’s tuning and customization market which is riding high on surging auto sales in the region.
Rising global interest in the region was confirmed during the just concluded SEMA Show, which is the world’s premier automotive specialty products trade event often described as the ultimate car candy factory.
The Middle East Motor Tuning Show, which participated in the SEMA Show for the second consecutive year, registered higher number of footfalls to its booth and received a lot of enquiries from American and other international manufacturers about the next edition of the region’s tuning and customization show.
Mr. Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre Sharjah, led the MEMTS team to the SEMA Show, which was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center recently, and addressed a well-attended gathering at the SEMA Middle East Conference, highlighting the potential in the region for automotive aftermarket manufacturers and dealers.
“The UAE has one of the highest vehicle ownership rates in the world… luxury vehicle sales, a direct market driver for the tuning and customization industry, is also set to erase the record sales achieved in 2008,” Mr. Midfa told the audience, which included the who’s who of the international auto aftermarket industry.
In the UAE, the number of cars per 1,000 people is set to reach 636 by 2017, up from an estimated 470 in 2012, and about 380,000 vehicles are expected to hit the roads in UAE alone this year, up 23 per cent from last year. In the GCC, the sales volume is set to reach 1.61 million this year compared to 1.49 million last year, according to recently released figures by auto dealers.
“Our booth drew fantastic response, visitor feedback and business leads. Combined with the success of the SEMA Pavilion at last year’s MEMTS, there was greater interest in the Middle East market this time,” said Mr. Midfa, on his return from the show.
Participants at the SEMA Middle East Conference were unanimous in their opinion that there was strong growth in demand for car modification in the Middle East, and companies are eager to tap the demand by bringing in more products and services to the market.
The fourth MEMTS held in 2013 occupied 110,000 sq ft of indoor and 130,000 sq ft of outdoor exhibition and entertainment space and attracted over 35,000 visitors during its three-day run.
The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show featured about 2,500 vendors showing some 2,000 new products in one million square feet of exhibit space in the Las Vegas Convention Centre from November 5 - 8, 2013.
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