Saudi Arabia’s automotive market is undergoing a major shift, with China surpassing Japan to become the Kingdom’s largest vehicle supplier. According to data from the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, Saudi Arabia imported approximately 1.9 million vehicles over the past two years, including about 959,000 units in 2025 alone. Japan ranked second, followed by India, Thailand, and South Korea, while the United States fell to sixth place.
As one of the world’s top 20 automotive markets, Saudi Arabia continues to rely heavily on private vehicles due to limited public transportation. At the same time, the Kingdom is accelerating efforts to localize vehicle manufacturing through the King Salman Automotive Cluster, home to Ceer and Lucid Motors. The trend highlights both the growing competitiveness of Chinese automakers in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia’s ambition to build a domestic automotive industry under Vision 2030.