From 'Tarnbeel' to the Automotive Industry.. A Story of More Than a Century in Saudi Arabia

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Before cars became a part of the daily scene on the streets of the Kingdom, they had another name in popular memory: "Tarnbil." This name accompanied the early beginnings of the car's entry into Saudi Arabia, preserved in conversations and popular poetry, before the car transformed from an imported means of transport to a locally designed, engineered, and produced industry.

The King Abdulaziz Foundation, through the "I belong" initiative account, recalls this story through informative content that showcases the beginnings of cars in the Kingdom and the transformations they brought to transportation and daily life, coinciding with the launch of "Exobut," in a scene that combines the memory of the beginnings with what the Kingdom has reached today in car design, engineering, and manufacturing.

The post was titled "Tarnbil," which is one of the names known for the car in its early appearance, used as an Arabic adaptation of the word (Automobile), and it was also known as "Tanbil," with its plural being "Tanabil."

The story goes back to a Ford Model T, which appeared during the reign of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud - may God have mercy on him - after it was brought by his agent in Bahrain, Abdullah Al-Qusaybi, in the year 1341 AH / 1922 AD. With its arrival, the outlines of a new phase began to take shape in the history of transportation and daily life in the Kingdom.

The effects of the car's entry did not stop at being a means of transportation, as its spread accompanied new manifestations that extended to details of social life. Among these manifestations is the appearance of symbols and tags related to camels on some vehicle plates, including the tag "Camels of Al Saud" alongside the car number, extending from signs that were familiar in society before the spread of cars.

Then, "the turnbail" found its way into popular memory and poetry, where the term appeared in folk poetry, as a testament to the transition of the car from being a new means of transport to an element present in the details of daily life and the social scene.

After more than a century since those beginnings, the image has changed; the car that once entered the Kingdom from abroad has now become part of an industrial sector that is moving towards local design, engineering, and manufacturing. This journey encapsulates a part of the transformation that the Kingdom is witnessing, aligning with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 in diversifying the economy, localizing advanced industries, and enhancing national capabilities.

This story comes as part of the "I Belong" initiative under the King Abdulaziz Foundation, which aims to introduce youth and adolescents to the historical, cultural, and geographical depth of the Kingdom, presenting national history and cultural heritage through contemporary digital and cognitive methods, thereby enhancing the connection of generations to their country's history and national identity.