Car exports to Saudi Arabia likely to increase next year

Korea expects the demand for vehicles in Saudi Arabia to rise as the Middle Eastern country has decided to allow women to drive next year, a trade agency said Monday.

Last month, Saudi Arabia said it would allow women in their 30s or older to drive from June 2018, ending a longstanding policy that has branded the ultraconservative kingdom as the global symbol of the oppression of women.

As some 3.2 million Saudi Arabian women aged between 30 and 54 are expected to go about their everyday activities using cars, demand in the country for subcompact sedans and sport-utility vehicles will grow over time, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) said in a statement.

Korea’s vehicle exports to Saudi Arabia fell 36 percent year-on-year to $2.6 billion last year as low oil prices and oil output reduction weighed on the Middle Eastern country’s financial status, it said. Yonhap