Saudi women car owners skyrocket

(Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia's booming economy has sparked a huge rise in the number of women buying cars, despite the fact women are banned from driving in the kingdom, automobile industry figures have revealed.

Speaking at this week's annual Riyadh Motor Show, car makers said the industry is responding to the demand by offering certain models and colours that appeal to females, who rely on chauffeurs to drive them, newswire Reuters reported on Monday.

"There is increasing demand to buy cars, especially from working women. The women's workforce in Saudi Arabia is becoming powerful and influential. You find business women everywhere and business geared towards women is growing rapidly," a sales executive with a major car manufacturer said, quoted Reuters.

Ali Alshihri of Toyota cited the Camry, Aurion and Avalon models among women's favourites, while popular colours included pink and purple. He said the main buyers of cars were older and single women.

The final day of the car show on Wednesday is reserved for "families", a Saudi custom, and is the only day that women are allowed to attend the exhibition.

Nissan said it will be targeting women with its Infiniti model, while General Motors (GM) said its new Cadilac is to be marketed in the kingdom for the first time with female buyers in mind.

According to figures published by state oil firm Saudi Aramco this year, car ownership among the female population skyrocketed 60% between 2003 and 2006, taking the total number of vehicles owned by 75,522 women to 120,334 at the end of last year.

A women's right drive is becoming an increasingly contentious issue in Saudi Arabia, with many beginning to question the status quo. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.

A group of women in September submitted a petition with 1,100 signatories to King Abdullah urging the Saudi ruler to end the ban, the first public challenge to the prohibition in 17 years.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Chaos in the Kingdom: women should be allowed to drive
Posted by T Crowe Semler, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday 17 December 2007 at 05:35 UAE time

Women should have the right to drive, however the majority of male drivers in Saudi Arabia appear to have no respect for the law or "the rules of the road".
Driving in Riyadh is dangerous. Young drivers have very bad driving habits, or what I like to call the 'X-Box syndrome'. They drive as if they were in a video game, taking massive risks behind the wheel.
The police station system needs to be redesigned to allow for more patrol coverage rather than all patrol cars being stationed at one location for dispatch. Each police station should have assigned patrol cars. The laws are there they just need to be enforced.
The Wasta system must be put to bed once and for all especially when we are dealing with driving fines and jail time. The driving laws must create a "deterrent" to keep people safe.
Male drivers have created chaos in the Kingdom. Perhaps we should revoke all male driving licenses and then re-issue driving licenses only to women?

Saudi women do own cars it's true
Posted by Hussain Motabagani, Khobar, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday 12 December 2007 at 10:20 UAE time

Yes its true, within my family there are at least three women who own vehicles in their names.
However, what your story didn't report was the large number number of cars purchased by and taken abroad by female students to neighboring countries like Dubai, Bahrain and Egypt.
I am all for women driving in KSA but only when we reform our driving laws and have an adequate police and traffic force because frankly at the moment it is in utter chaos. As a man I fear for my own life on the roads so what would a woman do?

Female Saudi car owners: Do they simply drive in Dubai instead?
Posted by RAJENDRA ANEJA, DUBAI, UAE on Tuesday 11 December 2007 at 16:08 UAE time

This is fantastic news, but are these booming sales so that women can simply display their cars at home? I've never seen a lady drive a car in Saudi, but perhaps they get round this by driving when they visit Dubai? Worth looking into.

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