RIYADH, 3 March 2003 — A semi-luxury sports-cum-family car, based on a Saudi design and Indian technology, is to be manufactured in Riyadh.
The vehicle’s prototype, made in DC Company’s factory in Bombay, will be exhibited at the 10-day Geneva Motor Show starting on Thursday.
Fouzy A. Sabri, president of the Al-Araba Group, told Arab News yesterday that the car — called Al-Araba-1 and priced at $250,000-$300,000 — will be manufactured at its facility in the new industrial township off Al-Kharj road. The group has already launched on the Saudi market a luxury customized edition of Volvo bus under its own brand name for its VIP customers.
The Kingdom has over 3,200 car factories, one-third of which are located in Riyadh, but the $10 million Al-Araba car factory will be the first of its kind in the country to produce semi-luxury sports cars.
Fouzy said that after the Geneva Motor Show the car would be introduced in Dubai before it makes its debut in the Saudi market. The prototype was developed at a cost of $3 million over a one-year period.
