VOLVO Cars, the Swedish premium carmaker, through its sole importer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nahwasharq Co. Ltd, inaugurated Tuesday its first showroom in Riyadh, under the patronage of Jan Knutsson, Swedish Ambassador to the Kingdom, and in the presence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Fahad Al-Kraidees, President of Nahwasharq Co. Ltd, Jesus Fernandez de Mesa, Volvo Cars Corporation, Importers EMEA Managing Director, and high profile attendees from the industry and media.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Fahad Al-Kraidees said: “Nahwasharq is renowned for presenting top-of-the-line motorcycle and automotive products and services while providing a unique ownership experience for its customers in KSA. And today we are proud to be official importer of Volvo Cars, a premium brand and a company with sustainable profitability. I strongly believe that Volvo Cars’ vision is moving in line with Nahwasharq’s commitment, which also traces the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 of maintaining the safety and security of residents through ongoing efforts to ensure traffic safety, and minimize traffic accidents and their consequences,” he added: “We are also planning on expanding our network with two additional locations, Dammam and Jeddah, in 2019 in order to provide Volvo Cars enthusiasts with an excellent customer

experience.”

De Mesa, said: “We are honored to inaugurate the first Volvo Cars showroom in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The opening follows several years of record profit sales and numerous prestigious awards, and is one of the many steps we have taken to highlight our commitment to the growth in the Kingdom and the Middle East,” he added: “Nahwasharq is well-known for its automotive legacy and commitment to providing exceptional customer service. By partnering with such a reputable group, we will offer a completely new range of premium models based on in-house developed platform, powertrain, safety and infotainment technologies to Saudi customers.”

The showroom offers the full range of Volvo award-winning models including SUVs: XC90; the most awarded luxury SUV of the century, holding numerous titles including Middle East Car of the Year Awards “Jury Car of the Year” and “Best Midsize Premium SUV” in 2016 together with two more recognitions from EURO NCAP as “Best in Class” overall and for the large off-road category, XC60; the World Car of the Year 2018 and Middle East Car of the Year 2018, XC40; the European Car of the Year 2018, as well as Sedans: S90 and the versatile V40 in addition to an assortment of high-end branded products.

The top-of-the-line 90 series cars are expected to bring immense potential entering the market. Next on the list is the all-new S60 that will be available in the showroom next year.

Over 100 guests toured the showroom, enjoying its Scandinavian design as well as the Saudi Arabian heritage brought by a musical performed by the Saudi Arabian Society of Arts and Culture. Located on Prince Abdul-Aziz Ibn Mousaed Ibn Jalawi St. in the Sulaymania District of Riyadh, the newly inaugurated showroom is built on state-of-the art Volvo Retail Experience concept based on Volvo’s brand promise “designed around you”. The showroom creates a Scandinavian luxury experience that truly reflects this customer-centric approach. It is not a concept which is only about high-end minimalistic interior and exterior finishing and puts customers’ needs in focus to create a welcoming and family friendly atmosphere for customers.”

Volvo Cars has been synonymous with advanced safety systems and have recognition and awards for its contribution to road safety. Continuously innovating to make people’s lives safer, less complicated and more enjoyable, Volvo Cars has also stated the most ambitious safety vision in the industry: no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by 2020. Driven by its commitment to developing safer, more sustainable and convenient cars, Volvo Cars aim to have up to 1 million electrified cars on the road by 2025, with half of all annual sales from electric cars the same year. This ties in well with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 bringing a significant positive impact to the nation’s traffic safety standards, as well as reducing pollution and dependence of fossil fuels. — SG