According to research by Emirates NBD, the UAE remains one of the largest automotive markets in the Gulf, second only to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The UAE relies heavily on imports, with nearly all cars being imported from manufacturing facilities abroad. Aside from a small number of factories that assemble components for trucks and buses, as well as factories that produce armoured vehicles and boutique high-performance sports cars, there is no significant large-scale, commercial automotive manufacturing activity taking place in the country. However, steps have been taken recently to address this and expand the automotive manufacturing industry on mainland UAE.