Emirates Vehicle Market in 2025 is steadily increasing. Q1 figures rose 13.8% while EVs surged 62.2%, confirming recent trend of impressive acceleration. Jetour posted outstanding surge, up 11 spots into 4th, though podium brands hold firm on top.
Economic Environment
The UAE economy is forecast to grow by 4.7% in 2025 and accelerate to 5.7% in 2026, with strong contributions from both hydrocarbon and non-oil sectors, particularly tourism, real estate, manufacturing, and trade. Non-oil GDP is set to expand by 5.1%, while inflation remains low at 2.0%, aided by stable domestic prices and declining global tradables inflation. Fiscal conditions are solid, with a AED 96.3 billion surplus recorded in the first three quarters of 2024, driven by buoyant tax revenues. Wages rose 6.7% YoY, and employment expanded, supporting household consumption.
The real estate market saw diverging trends, with Dubai’s residential sales up 42.5%, while Abu Dhabi’s dipped 6.1%. The tourism sector continues to thrive, with 18.7 million visitors to Dubai and hotel occupancy at 78%, while the aviation sector also posted record highs, including 92.3 million passengers through Dubai International Airport. Financial markets remain strong: banking assets rose 12%, loans 9.5%, and deposits 12.9%, alongside robust capital adequacy and improved loan quality. Insurance premiums increased 21.4%, and the Dubai Financial Market index climbed 22.4%, reflecting investor confidence.
Automotive Industry Trend and Outlook
Economic stability and consumer confidence led to an increase in Q1 figures for the UAE vehicle market in 2025, rising by 13.8%. January (+22-3%) and February (+11.5) posted double-digit growth, which stabilized to 7.7% in March.
Looking at Q1 figures for 2025 brand-wise, the leader was still Toyota growing 1.9% compared to the prior year. Nissan in 2nd grew 0.2%, followed in 3rd by Mitsubishi, up 56.7%. Jetour climbed 11 spots to rank 4th, up 150.4%, followed by MG in 5th, up 6.3%.
Looking at specific models the Nissan Patrol became the best seller, growing 19.2% in year-on-year volume, followed by the Toyota Hilux, up 19.3%.
EV Market Trend and Outlook
The UAE’s EV market is booming, surging 62.2% in Q1 of 2025. Widespread charging infrastructure and a national strategy driving EV growth supported the transition, making EV models more accessible to residents.
Tesla dominated with 43% market share, skyrocketing 19 spots ahead of Toyota, while BYD and MG also posted strong gains further down the rankings.
Medium-Term Market Trend
The UAE vehicle market flourished between 2010 and 2015, more than doubling volumes from 213,072 units in 2010 to a record 408,154 in 2015. However, this growth was interrupted by declining purchasing power triggered by a sharp drop in oil revenues and the introduction of restrictive fiscal policies. The market contracted sharply in 2016 (-25.1%) and continued a downward trajectory until 2019. That year saw signs of stabilization, with the decline narrowing to just -1%, and full-year sales ending at 238,955 units.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drove sales down 30.5% to 166,055—the lowest since 2008. A partial rebound followed in 2021 (+28%), though global recession fears and oil price volatility continued to weigh on expectations. The market gradually recovered in 2022 (+2.7%) and 2023 (+29%), ultimately surpassing the 300,000-unit threshold again in 2024 with a 19.2% increase.
In the country, EV adoption had long lagged due to limited infrastructure and high costs, but with growing government incentives, a rapid charging network expansion, and lower-priced Chinese models, demand surged in 2024, up 264.6%. Brands like Jetour contributed significantly to this boom by offering competitively priced models tailored for UAE consumers seeking tech-savvy yet affordable mobility options.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for top 10 models
