Our Story

Our Story

Guided by the Jameel family for three generations and over eight decades, Abdul Latif Jameel is today a network of distinct, independent, international, and diversified businesses originally founded in 1945, by the late visionary entrepreneur, Abdul Latif Jameel.

A powerful partner with strong international knowledge and relationships, and an unwavering commitment to continuous investment in people, business, technology, and community, Abdul Latif Jameel nurtures growth and lets innovation shine – leading progress across the core business sectors driving the future of the global economy.

We believe in creating tangible value – and the new opportunities this brings – in the lives of our customers, partners, Associates, and, of course, our communities, building long-term prosperity through thoughtful progress.

With a presence in more than 30 markets, across six continents, with over 11,000 Associates from more than 85 nationalities, Abdul Latif Jameel fosters an inclusive environment for talent to thrive across its network of businesses.

Our potential is unlimited.

And the future is full of possibilities, as we continue to work . . .

. . . towards a more beautiful tomorrow.

Our Journey

How it began . . .

In 1945, our late founder began his quest to meet the expanding need for consumer choice in personal transportation and opened his first automotive outlet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a fuel station also selling car parts.

Within a decade, Abdul Latif Jameel (1912-1993) was appointed as the official Toyota distributor for the country, with an initial order of four Toyota BJ all-terrain vehicles.

More than seven decades later,  our relationship with Toyota Motor Corporation continues to grow and strengthen, enabling us, through our mobility businesses within the Abdul Latif Jameel network – including Abdul Latif Jameel Motors (Saudi Arabia) and Jameel Motors (internationally) – to represent some of the world’s best-known automotive brands delivering award winning end-to-end service to retail and commercial customers in more than 15 countries across three continents through locally established businesses rooted in the heart of the community.

1912
1912 – Abdul Latif Jameel is born

In Jeddah 1912, the late Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel was born into a world very different to that of today.

Many nations we recognize today, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, simply didn’t yet exist.  It was a time before the two great conflicts of World War I and II, and a time before oil became the lubricant of world industry and transportation.

Over the decades of his early life, Abdul Latif Jameel would learn to see opportunities all around him and develop a vision of business that helped to also develop the communities and lives of the people in which it operated.  This purpose-based approach, combined with a focus on continual improvement and customer service learned from his deep relationship with Japanese business, Toyota, would shape the future nature and philosophy of businesses to come.