Future of mobility: Rise in private vehicle demand

Future of mobility: Rise in private vehicle demand

This is the fourth part in a series of features examining the impact of Covid-19 on the region's transport and mobility startups

For Saudi Arabia-based automotive marketplace Syarah, June 2020 was a fantastic month. Despite the pandemic, the company closed a bridge round and broke all of its previous sales records as Saudis rushed to buy new cars before the government increased its VAT rate from 5 per cent to 15 per cent. 

"There has been a sharp increase in car buying activity before new value-added (VAT) taxes came into effect on 1 July and people wanted to purchase their cars before they can be subject to these taxes,“ says Omar Tahboub, deputy chief executive officer at Syarah. 

This sudden increase in demand, while short-lived, was a boon for the automotive industry in Saudi Arabia.