Car dealer to invest nearly Dh1bn in showrooms

The distributor of Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen cars is set to invest nearly Dh1 billion in new showrooms, workshops and operations across the Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Al Nabooda Automobiles plans to build or refurbish 10 facilities in Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah and Jebel Ali as it aims to grow sales of its German brands and maintain its position as the biggest selling Porsche dealer in the world. "The overall investment we are looking at is Dh900 million over the next two and a half years," said K Rajaram, the chief executive of Al Nabooda Automobiles. "The investment covers 10 individual projects … some are on stream and some will start in the course of next year." Al Nabooda is one of the biggest car dealers in the Middle East as it sells the highest number of Audi and Volkswagen cars and its Porsche showroom has recently had some of the best sales months ever. It is the exclusive distributor of the three German brands in Dubai and the Northern Emirates and currently has about 700 staff, which will grow to more than 1,000 once the expansion is complete. In September, the company will open the largest Audi new car sales showroom in the world, located on Sheikh Zayed Road. The size of the building is 3,656 square metres and is on three separate levels, showcasing 57 vehicles. There is also an area where customers can design a car and see it life size on a huge screen. Audi announced record Middle East sales of 7,865 vehicles last year, with 40 per cent of its business plied in the UAE. It is rapidly catching up with BMW and Mercedes-Benz after reporting a 42 per cent increase in sales last year to 1,250 cars sold in Abu Dhabi and a 39 per cent increase in Dubai to 1,887 vehicles.