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Bahrain Autos Report Q3 2011
Business Monitor International, June 2011, Pages: 33
Business Monitor International's Bahrain Autos Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, auto associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Bahrain's automotive industry.
The recent economic recovery in Bahrain has been put at risk by tensions in the Arab world, which threaten instability and increase economic and political uncertainty. Protests from a dissatisfied Shi’a majority wanting greater political freedom and equality resulted in an immediate crackdown by government security forces and the imposition of a three-month state of emergency on March 14, which at the time of writing, remains in place.
The use of military force has been softened by accompanying overtures by the Bahraini royal family for dialogue and conflict resolution. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa has called on all parties to work for a resolution to the conflict. He announced a willingness on the government’s part to discuss political reforms including an increase in parliamentary power and a full consideration of the issues of corruption and sectarianism.
The crisis has led the government to announce an increase in public spending, which has been bolstered by the Gulf Co-operation Council’s offer of a 10-year US$10bn aid package to upgrade public housing infrastructure. Whether this will be enough to head off the unrest that still bubbles under the surface remains to be seen and to some extent will depend on events in the wider Middle East and Arab world.
In the event of an accommodation being reached, the prospects for the Bahrain economy are positive. High oil prices allied with the government’s increased spending plans should see increased economic growth across the board and an increase in prosperity will lead to improvements in the auto sector. Ford India’s decision to start exporting the Figo to the country in response to local demand offers an encouraging sign and is evidence that auto manufacturers have confidence that the Bahrain market will continue to deliver new vehicle sales.
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