JEDDAH: Marking the beginning of celebrations to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Chevrolet, Universal Motors Agencies Co. (UMA), General Motors' (GM) dealer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hosted an event that showcased some of Chevrolet's most popular vehicles in the Kingdom. The event was held in Abha and was attended by UMA's customers recently. UMA honored a number of its key customers who, earlier this month, joined in celebrating the exceptional return of the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado. UMA has rolled out a customer experience program in which it had given the opportunity for a selection of customers to test drive and experience the ownership of the new Chevrolet Silverado for an extended period in order to get introduced to its robust features, unrivaled capabilities and reliability advantages. "Our partnership with General Motors goes back to 1949 and we are extremely proud to be part of this milestone," said Walid Telmesani, COO at UMA. "Chevrolet is considered part of the Kingdom's fabric of life and is a key brand to the success of our business. We remain committed to working with GM as to meet our customers' needs and tastes, and provide them with a world class shopping, buying and ownership experience." Chevrolet introduced its first pick-up vehicles in 1918, and from the very start, brought technology and features that are usually offered in more expensive vehicles to its line-up of affordable cars and pick-ups. At a time when it was rare, even among luxury cars, the first Chevrolet offered an electric starter and electric headlamps. "This year's centennial is a great chance to reflect on the passion and emotion that has made Chevrolet what it is today and we are pleased to join hands with UMA to celebrate this milestone," said Markus Leithe, KSA Regional Sales Director at GM Middle East Operations. "Chevrolet enters its second century with great momentum. The next 100 years will see Chevrolet continue strengthening its position across the world and the Middle East region with vehicles built on the cornerstones of value, reliability, performance and expressive design." This year has also seen the inauguration of UMA's new multi-operational facility in Jubail Industrial Zone, bringing the total number of UMA facilities in the Kingdom to 26. UMA has invested more than SR185 million ($50 million) as part of its expansion program and is now operating in 16 locations across Saudi Arabia.
