It was a modest 26th place in the last stage between Bisha and Jeddah for Ekström, just over ten minutes behind Henk Lategan, South Africa.
Nasser Al-Attiyah, Qatar, won the rally ahead of Sébastien Loeb.
The Toyota driver was almost half an hour ahead of the Frenchman in the finish.
Sebastian Eriksson and map reader Wouter Rosegaar, the Netherlands came second in the lightweight class after second place in the final stage.
Feliciano Lopez, the stablemate in EKS South Racing, overall won in the class.
The Chilean was just over 50 minutes ahead of newcomer Eriksson in goal.
The text is updated.