Industry News

Oman Launches

Tesla to enter Oman in 2027 and starts hiring in Muscat

Tesla will enter Oman in 2027, according to its Middle East market lead, Pawel Trzpis, who first disclosed the plan on LinkedIn in October. The company is building a local team from scratch, starting with sales: advertised Muscat roles include store manager, sales adviser and customer experience specialist. The first store's location and the date orders will open have not been announced, and no service or Supercharger roles are listed yet.

Our thoughts Hiring its own store staff points to direct sales, unusual in Oman's distributor-led market; the effect on dealers will depend on pricing and service cover, neither yet disclosed.

GCC Policy & trade

Saudi Arabia recalls 4,565 Toyota Urban Cruisers over fuel gauge fault

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Commerce has recalled 4,565 model-year 2025 Toyota Urban Cruisers because the dashboard may show incorrect fuel readings, which could leave a car out of fuel with its engine cutting out on the road. Owners can check their vehicle identification number on Recalls.sa, and authorised dealers will replace the dashboard free of charge.

Global Finance & M&A

Toyota raises annual profit forecast despite Middle East and China weakness

Toyota's April–September net profit rose 26.1% to JPY2.24tn (USD14.1bn) and revenue 9.5% to JPY26.96tn (USD170bn), as a weak yen and hybrid demand outweighed lower sales in China and the Middle East. It raised its full-year operating profit forecast from JPY3.4tn to JPY3.9tn (USD24.6bn), but cut its revenue forecast to JPY53.5tn from JPY54tn and its global sales forecast to 10.3 million vehicles from 10.5 million. The Middle East situation reduced first-half operating profit by JPY85bn (USD537m).

Our thoughts Falling Middle East sales alongside strong hybrid demand elsewhere suggest GCC distributors may have to compete harder with other regions for hybrid allocations.

Global Policy & trade

EU lawmakers seek security assessment of BYD vehicles

Fourteen members of the European Parliament, led by French MEP François Kalfon, have used written questions to the European Commission to seek an assessment by the EU's cybersecurity agency of the threat from BYD vehicles. The move follows a US military ban on the brand's cars at Kadena Air Base in Japan last month. BYD says data held in the cloud or in a vehicle cannot be accessed remotely from China; the Commission typically has six weeks to respond.

Our thoughts European scrutiny of connected-car data could prompt similar questions from government fleet buyers in the GCC, where Chinese brands are widely sold.

Global People

Stellantis names Pablo Di Si operating chief for North America

Stellantis has appointed Pablo Di Si chief operating officer for North America and its American brands with immediate effect. He joins the leadership team and reports to chief executive Antonio Filosa, who had kept oversight of the region alongside his main role. Di Si was previously the group's chief performance officer, a post now taken by Gustavo Soloaga, and has led Volkswagen's North and South American businesses; Jon Nelson becomes North America finance chief.