In recent years, the market performance of Chinese auto brands in the UAE and Saudi Arabia has been exceptionally impressive! According to the latest report, survey data from AutoData Middle East shows that the number of car registrations in the UAE will reach 318,981 in 2024, an increase of 15.7% over the previous year, the largest increase in the past five years; and the Saudi market has shown explosive growth. Last year, the number of car registrations exceeded the 1 million mark for the first time, reaching 1,037,652, a surge of 22% over 2022, and this figure even exceeded traditional auto consumption countries such as Germany.

In the Middle East market dominated by traditional Japanese cars, the breakthrough of Chinese brands can be called 'phenomenal'. According to Saudi market data in 2024, Jetour became the first Chinese brand to enter the local annual sales TOP10 with sales of 9,569 vehicles. Its flagship model T2 ranked eighth on the best-selling list in the UAE with a market share of 1.7%, becoming the first Chinese model on the list. MG, with its full product line advantage, has captured a 12.3% share in the UAE's new energy vehicle market, and its pure electric model ZS EV has obtained authoritative certification for battery stability in high temperature environments. Changan Automobile's CS75 PLUS Desert Special Edition, launched through localization transformation, is equipped with an enhanced cooling system and anti-sand filter, and its sales in the inland areas of Saudi Arabia have surged by 45% month-on-month.

Technical adaptability has become the key to success for Chinese brands. According to the data from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Certification Center, GCC-spec models developed by Chinese automakers for the Middle East market have covered 92% of the products on sale. These models are equipped with cooling systems certified by 50°C high temperature tests, UV-resistant interior materials and reinforced suspension systems. SAIC Group has also cooperated with Dubai Laboratory to develop a 'desert mode' intelligent driving system that can automatically adjust power output to cope with sandy road conditions. This deep customization strategy has achieved remarkable results: in 2024, local consumers' consultations on Chinese brands increased by 77% year-on-year, of which 75% of buyers explicitly requested GCC-spec vehicles.

In the used car market, Chinese brands are breaking the curse of 'high depreciation rate'. According to data from Cars24, a used car trading platform in the UAE, the three-year value retention rate of models such as MG HS and Geely Boyue PRO in 2024 has reached 68%, approaching the 72% of Toyota RAV4. The Dubai Automobile Dealers Association pointed out that Chinese brands have greatly boosted consumer confidence by building regional spare parts centers (such as Geely's 20,000 square meter storage center in Jeddah) and a complete after-sales network, reducing the average waiting time for repairs from 14 days in 2019 to 3.7 days.

Faced with competition, traditional automakers are adjusting their strategies. Toyota launched the 'Ten-Year Worry-Free Plan' in the Middle East, providing free maintenance packages for Camry; Nissan launched the Patrol Desert Edition to target Chinese competitors, strengthening off-road performance configuration. However, the intelligent advantages of Chinese brands are still expanding: GAC Trumpchi's M8 Grandmaster Edition launched in the UAE is equipped with NVIDIA Orin chips and 5G interconnection systems. Its intelligent voice assistant supports Arabic dialect recognition and won 2,300 orders in the first week of pre-sale.

It is worth noting that Chinese automakers are reconstructing the automotive industry chain in the Middle East. The Jeddah plant jointly built by Chery and Saudi Arabia's sovereign fund PIF will be put into production in 2025, with an annual production capacity of 150,000 new energy vehicles; BYD signed an agreement with the UAE Al-Futtaim Group to build an electric vehicle KD assembly plant in the Dubai Free Trade Zone. These layouts not only reduce the 25% tariff cost, but also meet the GCC rules of origin through localized production, paving the way for entering other Gulf countries.

Industry insiders analyzed that the rise of Chinese brands in the Middle East is a concentrated reflection of systemic advantages: from climate adaptation transformation on the product R&D end, to regional center layout on the supply chain end, to digital communication on the marketing end targeting Arab consumer habits (such as the topic 'Desert Challenge' created by Changan in the Arabic-speaking area of TikTok, which has been played 230 million times). Despite the challenges of geopolitical risks and exchange rate fluctuations, with its first-mover advantage in the fields of electrification and intelligence, Chinese cars are expected to increase their market share in Gulf countries from the current 8.7% to 15% in the next three years, truly rewriting the regional market pattern.