GM to unveil new model at Dubai motor show

Confirming the strategic importance of the Middle East automotive market, General Motors (GM) will conduct the global unveiling of a new model at the upcoming Dubai Motor Show. It is the first time that the US auto giant is doing so in the show's history, though no further details were provided. But senior officials did say the model is positioned in one of the fastest growing auto categories in the region. GM lays great store on prospects for the auto industry in the Middle East, with these markets expected to account for a combined 2.14 million units across all brands by the end of the decade, compared with the 1.2 million units this year. "This would make the Middle East the second fastest growing territory outside the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] markets for the auto industry," said John Stadwick, president and managing director of GM's Middle East operations. The forecasts provide a lot of room for GM to manoeuvre itself into some solid growth numbers. Since October last year, the automaker has recorded double-digit growth each month with Saudi Arabia and Iraq being the top two markets. The UAE was third, and it seems the turmoil of the Arab Spring has had minimal impact on GM.