The decision to ban the import of used cars stops the waste of 9.8 billion riyals annually abroad

The decision to ban the import of used cars from abroad, whose life span exceeds 5 years, stopped the waste of 9.8 billion riyals, which is transferred abroad annually. And the decision, which began to be implemented yesterday, was supported by investors in the auto sector, saying that the decision will work to regulate the local car market, which works randomly on the one hand, and on the other hand, to protect the environment from pollution, but some of them said, “The decision must be reconsidered so that it includes in one of its paragraphs local cars.” that affect the environment and that are more than 5 years old.

They said that the main affected by the decision are those with limited income, stressing that the decision will affect the local market, as car prices increased during the last period by 30 percent, noting that used car dealers now have the opportunity to raise prices.

Hani Al-Afaleq, Chairman of the Automotive Committee in the Asharqia Chamber, said that the internal market will miss a large number of cars imported from the Gulf markets or foreign markets, as the import last year amounted to more than 140,000 used cars, with an average price of 70,000 riyals per car, with an annual total estimated at 9.8 billion riyals. He explained that these sums that go abroad will enhance the position of the market after being returned to it, fearing that this opportunity will be used to raise car prices.

Al-Afaleq criticized the decision, which did not include cars that are more than 5 years old in the local market, as they cause environmental damage to the region, adding, “Not only used cars imported from abroad, as it was a matter of preserving the environment, so where are the local cars from that?”

Al-Afaleq expected that the prices of cars would not rise locally, despite the shortage in the number of imported cars, but the price hike would be on imported cars with modern models that do not exceed five years of manufacture.

For his part, Muhammad Al-Ajaji, Director of the Automotive Sector at Olayan Group, stated that the decision will help control the local car market in several respects, including specifications and standards, in terms of price and quality, which will have an impact on the availability of high-quality cars during the coming period, especially with regard to environmental aspects.

Al-Ajaji criticized the condition of the used car market, saying that the market in that sector in particular has become random and there is no specific organization that guarantees the right of the consumer and the availability of factory guarantees for the car that guarantees the consumer that there are no manufacturing defects of the car, in addition to the high profits that importers achieve for these used cars without the existence of a guarantee that matches the value. The car sold.

Al-Ajaji said that the decision will help regulate the market by selling larger quantities of new cars approved by international car dealerships, which give sufficient guarantee that the customer will benefit from in the event of problems with the new car.

Al-Ajaji denied that the ban would lead to a rise in prices for local cars, and that many importers of used cars abroad resort to selling on credit, which gives an indication that the ban will not affect the price hike for new and local cars, indicating that new car prices are linked to the global economy. And its rise or fall is due to external factors.

Al-Ajaji hoped that a similar decision would be implemented for trucks, as the Saudi market in recent years has increased the number of trucks due to the ease of entry into Saudi Arabia at low prices, due to the foreign markets trying to get rid of them due to their conflict with the environmental regulations in those countries and the environmental damage that results from heavy trucks that use diesel, which is There is no significant environmental pollution due to diesel exhaust. Citizen Hussein Al-Khader feared the high prices of local cars in the market, indicating that he feared that this decision would be exploited by speculators and “stripes” in the local market, and prices would be raised to take advantage of the decision, and therefore the affected consumer would be who does not have the ability to buy a new car, demanding to follow the markets Cars by the Ministry of Commerce to find out the prices.