UAE sees higher Chinese car sales as China faces decline at home

DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeing increasing sales of Chinese cars in 2023 even as local demand in China falls, according to an industry report released Monday. China relies on exports for the majority of its car sales and has the Middle East, including the Gulf and Israel, in its crosshairs.

Yalla Motor, an online car dealer, said Chinese state-owned MG sales from January to March have increased almost 86% year-on-year, the Abu Dhabi-based The National reported. The Shanghai-based MG was Yalla Motor’s fourth-highest-selling brand in the UAE in the first quarter of the year. Major Japanese carmakers Toyota and Nissan were the highest selling, followed by South Korea’s Hyundai.

The multinational Chinese automotive group Geely, distributed by AGMC in the UAE, has sold more than 1,000 units since setting up in the Emirates three months ago, it told Al-Monitor in a statement. Geely also set up a showroom in the northern emirate of Sharjah and plans to open another in the country’s capital Abu Dhabi toward the end of the year.

The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand BYD partnered with the UAE’s Al-Futtaim Electric Mobility Company in March of this year. It is the first country in the Middle East to deal in BYD vehicles, according to a press release from the global car manufacturer.