‘Welcome to the driver’s seat:’ Carmakers in rush to attract Saudi women

Car companies are jumping at the chance to capitalize from the lifting of the Saudi ban on women drivers that was announced last week.

A report by Bloomberg news agency has highlighted carmakers such as Ford and Mustang entering the race to attract 9 million potential customers when Saudi women are officially granted licenses next June.

“In a Twitter post titled “Welcome to the driver’s seat,” Ford Motor Co. attached an image of a pair of woman’s eyes appearing in a rear-view mirror against a black background. In another tweet under the hashtag #SaudiWomenCanDrive, it offered a ‘dream car’ to a women’s rights campaigner by putting up a picture of a bright yellow Mustang racing in a tunnel,” Bloomberg reported.

Also entering the fray is Tata Motors Ltd, which owns the Land Rover and Jaguar brands, posting an image of a handbag spilling out a car key, lipstick and a bottle of perfume among other items, with the captions "Adventure awaits you” and "The road is yours.”

Lexus, Volkswagen AG, BMW AG, and Nissan Motor Co. have also posted supportive ads, including Toyota, which published a number plate with "2018" and "Girl" in Arabic.