New Jaguar & Land Rover Showroom in KSA – soon in Egypt?

07-02-2008 / Cairo – Coventry - Jeddah -

Land Rover and Jaguar are surely two of the most prestigious automotive brands world-wide. Such prestigious brands deserve nothing less than exclusive and state-of-the-art show-rooms, especially in image- and reputation-oriented consumer markets like Egypt and the Middle East.

Unlike the Egyptian Jaguar & Land Rover importer MTI, who also happens to be Ferrari & Maserati importer and who changes the branding and decoration of his show-room from Maserati-Ferrari branding to Jaguar-Land Rover branding depending on the current model launch (see the pictures below), the Saudi Arabian distributors surely seems to care more about the brands image and reputation.

That's why Al Saif Motors, the exclusive distributor for Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has announced a multimillion dollar investment to launch two new showrooms in the country.

The facilities, situated in Riyadh on Tahlia Street and at Automall in Jeddah will house Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles, quick service area bays, fully equipped after-sales service facilities, VIP delivery walkways including a dedicated and private consultancy bay for women.

The opening of these two new showrooms reiterates and underlines the commitment Al Saif Motors has shown to Land Rover and Jaguar since they acquired the exclusive dealership contract back in 1995.

“We have integrated the new global 21st century Land Rover and Jaguar designs into our new showrooms as part of our commitment and alignment with Land Rover’s vision and international brand image standards, assuring our loyal customers a premium and professional sales and after-sales service.

We have also recruited new staff and top executives that benefit of excellent automotive experience and an in-depth understanding of the local market dynamics and motoring needs including the latest available technology in order to undertake and deal with costumers most basic servicing requirements,” said Al Saif Motor’s National Marketing Manager Mr. Philip Braidi.

The company has sustained its position at the forefront of the luxury SUV market through the launch of a range of premium models that are sophisticated, technologically advanced, and suitable for driving on all terrains.

At the Detroit Motor Show earlier this month, Land Rover unveiled a vision of its future with the LRX concept vehicle – a three-door, premium 4x4 - a bold evolution of Land Rover design and technology. While Jaguar showcased the new XF, a dramatic expression of a bold new Jaguar design language that fuses the style and performance of a sports car with the refinement, space and sophistication of a luxury saloon. The is scheduled to arrive in the Middle East in April 2008.

“Our mission at Al Saif Motors is simple: to attract customers, win customers, and keep customers happy by offering superb vehicles and services that they would expect from two of the world’s most premium and respected automotive brands.

“Both Land Rover and Jaguar offer excellent vehicle portfolios; we look forward to capitalizing on the growth potential in the Saudi market and taking these two brands to greater heights ” added Al-Saif Motor’s General Manager Mr. Alan Whaley.

The showroom openings come at a time when Land Rover has just announced the company’s third successive record sales with global sales increasing 17.6% and GCC sales increasing 29%.

Land Rover has a strong presence in some countries of the region like Saudi Arabia and the UAE with the Middle East being the third largest market in the world for Range Rover sales. Other potential markets like Egypt still suffer from a better Land Rover presence and awareness as well as a larger share in the Luxury-SUV and 4x4 segments, due to unlucky marketing and media strategies and totally un-experienced management.

And when an un-experienced management also proves to be incompetent in automotive matters, ignorant in media matters and arrogant in customers and clients matters, then it is almost too late for brands such as Land Rover, Jaguar, Ferrari and Maserati to be ever competitive in Egypt, unless major upper management or even dealership changes take place. This is surely something which needs to be considered at the headquarters of Maserati and Ferrari in Italy and Land Rover and Jaguar in the UK.

The classy and prestigious event in Saudi Arabia was attended by customers and local dignitaries. In Egypt such events are not that classy, as the importer there believes that having belly-dancers like Dina in his events would be more appealing to potential and existing Maserati, Ferrari, Jaguar and Land Rover customers. And because the MTI show-room in El-Obur street is approx. less than 100 square meters large and doesn’t fit more than three cars, the Egyptian importer needs to organize his events and launches in hotels like the JW Marriott Mirage.

The last launch organized by the dealer MTI was described by many decision-makers and media representatives as a very 'strange' and 'gharib' event / party, which definitely needs to be changed in the future.

Not less important than the show-rooms and launch events is the performance and road-stability of a car when you decide to purchase a car, especially when it has the caliber of a Range Rover or Range Rover Sport. That's why we at Auto Arabia are preparing an exclusive comparison test with some of the Range Rover's toughest competitors, including the Porsche Cayenne, which will be published soon. Stay tuned!