Al-Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Co. (AJVA), the Ford and Lincoln importer-dealer in Saudi Arabia, is on a full scale expansion with new facility openings and investments reaching SR200 million ($53 million). AJVA recently inaugurated its latest facility at the Jeddah Automall, one of many other new facilities which include those in Al-Shefa'a (Riyadh), Najran, and Ghornata (Riyadh). Al-Jazirah boasts 14 state-of-the-art facilities featuring fully-integrated showrooms, service and parts centers and a central vehicles compound and the region's largest parts depot. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Fahad Al-Kraidees, AJVA's president, said: “We have gone a long way since we've become Ford dealers, and we are proud of our achievements to date. I would like to acknowledge the relentless efforts of our management team and employees to bring world-class products, facilities, the highest levels of service and satisfaction to our customers across our branches in the Kingdom. But ultimately, we owe our success to our customers whom we thank for their trust in our products and services.” Waldo Galan, managing director of Ford Middle East, said: “Al-Jazirah Vehicles is working closely with us to ensure we have strong, sustainable representation throughout Saudi Arabia, and they are making a significant investment in the Ford brand throughout the Kingdom. Their commitment is evidenced by their efforts to continuously improve and provide the highest customer satisfaction levels.” The Ford and Lincoln brands have seen tremendous growth across the Kingdom this year, with a double digit growth of 55 per cent up in the first half of 2008. This record result is the outcome of the dealership's ongoing focus on growing the business, coupled with the latest new model introductions in the Saudi market, with all-new nameplates and refreshed models for the 2008 including the Ford Five Hundred, Mondeo, and Focus. Additionally, the Ford utility vehicles registered unprecedented growth in the first half of this year, with the Edge recording a 139 percent growth, while Explorer sales jumped by 136 percent. Meanwhile, the full-size Ford Expedition's sales saw an increase of 68 percent and its extended version the EL grew by 50 percent. Luxury crossover MKX also had a share of the success with 44 percent growth in its sales during the first half of the year. Ford expects more success later in the year as more models are expected in the second half of 2008, such as the award-winning Ford Fusion and the captivating Ford Flex full-size crossover which is set to take the region by storm. Ford's latest products have seen unprecedented popularity thanks to their quality offerings as well as their dynamic and refreshed looks. __
