MUSCAT, Nov 20 - The registration of new vehicles in the Sultanate witnessed a sharp fall of 21.5 per cent in the first nine months of the current year.
Statistics show that the commercial segment marked the highest drop of 34.8 per cent to reach 10,234 vehicles between January and September 2017.
There were 15,693 vehicles in the corresponding period last year.
According to National Centre for Statistics and Information, 45,498 new private vehicles made it to the road during the period, still a drastic drop of 19.9 per cent as against 56,782 vehicles last year.
“This shows the dark times that the automotive industry is passing through in Oman. This is also a reflection of the people’s aversion to spending on high value commodities such as vehicles,” said Saif al Lawati, a financial expert.
He said there is no need for any statistics to drive home the ongoing slackness in the automobile market.
“It had been a glamorous sight that a large number of cars with green number plates occupied the roads during festivals. But of late, the trend has changed, showing a dip in the sales of new vehicles,” he said.
At the same time, data shows positive signs in the rental market as the number of new vehicles registered during the same period witnessed a whopping 20.4 per cent rise with 3,271 against 2,716 cars.
“This has resulted from the economic slowdown due to the drop in oil revenues. Companies prefer vehicles on rent than buying them as part of their cost-cutting exercise,” said Saif.
There is also a fall in the number of applicants for car loans, he added.
Some dealers in the auto industry admit there have not been many enquiries for the purchase of new vehicles.
“There is a whole shift in the scenario. We are now selling fewer cars compared with the figures a couple of years ago,” said a sales executive with a leading automobile dealer.
People are even not replacing their old cars. This was not the trend until 2014.
Most customers are now deferring their purchase decisions, he said.
The sales of taxis and driving school cars have witnessed massive fall during the period.
While the number of new taxis registered during the period came down to 114 as against 158 with a 27.3 per cent fall during the period, there has been a 27.8 per cent dip in the driving school cars.
SAMUEL KUTTY
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