Wednesday, Feb 23, 2011

Gulf News

NIMR Automotive will speed up off-road product development

Abu Dhabi: Bin Jabr Group signed a joint venture deal with Tawazun Holding for the development of their NIMR vehicles, which are off-road extreme utility military vehicles designed and developed by Bin Jabr.

Under the terms of this new venture, Tawazun owns 60 per cent of NIMR Automotive.

The contract was signed in November 2010, said Mohammad Al Suwaidi, Vice-President of Bin Jabr Group. However, news about it came out during the UAEs International Defence Exhibition.

Al Suwaidi said the decision made possible a strategic alliance with Tawazun, a government-owned company.

We decided it was in the companys best interest to grow in the country and internationally with the country, he added.

The value at which the 60 per cent stake was sold was not disclosed, but Al Suwaidi said it was a very good deal.

NIMR Automotive has launched two new NIMR vehicles with Tawazun which were launched at the current Idex.

Diversification

The company currently has contracts with the UAE, Libya and Algeria and is looking at countries in Latin America such as Chile, Brazil and Venezuela to expand its presence.

The Middle East and GCC markets are growing as older generation vehicles are being slowly replaced by new ones, Al Suwaidi said.

Its become significantly cheaper to buy vehicles locally than to do so from a Western company.

Their standards are 100 per cent the same as those of a European or other Western company, he said.

The fact that the UAE Armed Forces is one of their clients is proof of that, he said. The UAE does not go for anything other than the best standards out there.

Bin Jabr is currently looking at diversifying its range of products. It recently introduced a new shotgun rifle for special armed forces and law enforcement agencies around the world.

Shotgun

The shotgun rifle, which was launched at Idex 2011, has already won orders for more than 10,000, said Mustafa Al Assad, Marketing Manager at Bin Jabr Group.

By Samia Badih, Staff Reporter

Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.