The Saudi
National Industrial Cluster Development Program (NICDP) recently signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with Toyota Motor Corporation for a feasibility study of an
industrial project to produce vehicles and parts in the kingdom.
The MoU,
signed in Tokyo during a visit by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is part of NICDP’s plans for growing the country’s
automotive industry to compete globally.
The study
will evaluate the development of a local supply base that would use materials
produced by major Saudi companies like Sabic, Maaden, Petro Rabigh and other
major industrial companies. Also of note in the study would be an examination
of how to attract talented Saudi workers and provide them with adequate
training programs.
Toyota is
the market leader in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) car markets. The company sold 500,000 vehicles in 2016 in the GCC.
