General Motors Group Vice President visits Kuwait

Key achievements of General Motors' Kuwait dealers, Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons and MS & RY Behbehani Company, were also highlighted.

Kempston Darkes provided an update on the company's performance in North America showing how the company's turnaround strategy is well ahead of schedule. 'A new GM is beginning to take shape; a company that is leaner and faster; one that has a passion to create the finest cars in the world,' she said.

Kuwait is an exceptional market for General Motors, where the company continues to have solid performance both in terms of sales growth and market share. In 2006, General Motors registered annual sales of 18,289 in Kuwait, up 5% over 2005. This growth has been fuelled by a succession of new car and SUV launches throughout 2006.

'Kuwait remains a very important market for General Motors. We are committed to doing everything we can to grow our business here,' said Kempston Darkes. 'Together with our dealer partners around the region, we stand firmly behind our cars and SUVs, offering our customers outstanding ownership experience. We have made, and will continue to make, significant investments in all aspects of the business to ensure customer satisfaction throughout the ownership cycle.'

Over the past five years, Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons' sales have grown almost three-fold from 4,092 units in 2001 to 11,581 in 2006. The company now represents Chevrolet, Cadillac, Hummer, Opel, Saab, and is in its third generation of family ownership and management, with 1,000 employees working on the GM brands.

'Today, we formally began work on a major new project in Shuwaikh, where Mrs. Kempston Darkes commemorated a ground-breaking ceremony on the site of the new building,' said Samir Kasem, Vice President, Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons.

'The showroom, a USD 10 million investment, will be completed in 2008 and will extend to 6000 square metres. This will be supported by a USD 69 million advanced service and workshop facility extending over 70,000 square metres. Our aim remains to be at the forefront of General Motors dealers - not just in Kuwait and the Middle East, but in the context of GM's entire global operations.'

Mohammad Saleh & Reza Yousuf Behbehani Company sales increased by about 150 percent in the past four years, from 2,722 units in 2002 to 6,757 in 2006. Within that figure, the company sold a record number of GMC Envoy SUVs, more than any other GM dealer in the world.

'Naturally, we are delighted that we hold such a distinctive status in our global achievements with General Motors,' said Adel Behbehani, Director of Sales, Mohammad Saleh & Reza Yousuf Behbehani Company.

'We are on the verge of the most exciting expansion phase in our history. No less than $24 million have been budgeted for a four level new service centre that will extend to around 32,000 square metres, a GM Certified Pre-Owned Cars showroom that will measure 700 square metres and a new 8,000 square metres of parts storage and distribution facility.'

Also speaking at the press conference was Steve Koch, General Motors LAAM Vice President and Regional Director - GM Africa and Middle East Operations who said, 'Both of our dealers here in Kuwait are long-established partners, and both are typical examples of the innovation, leadership, and management skills to be found in the best of GM dealerships around the world. I think it would be very hard to find two dealers in such a relatively small country with such impressive world leadership.'

In 2006, GM launched 17 new models or new generations of existing Middle East favourites, including such cars as the GMC Yukon, Yukon XL and the Chevrolet Lumina and Caprice. GM sales across the region totalled 140,509 a 24% increase over 2005.