Overview of the United Arab Emirates’ Automobile Market in 2022

Automobile sales in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2022 increased by 13.3% from the previous year to 218,000 units, recovering to the pre-coronavirus level of around 220,000 units. However, it is still a little more than half of the previous peak of over 400,000 units in 2015. The market composition by brand remains unchanged, with Japanese marques having a strong presence, but China’s MG of SAIC Motor entered the top 10, rising from 13th place the previous year to 8th position.

The UAE has been focusing on clean energy since around 2020, and in January 2023, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK on cooperation in the clean energy field.

The country hosted the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November 2023.

In addition, the UAE is actively promoting the conclusion of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) with various countries as a national policy. Apart from the FTA with Israel which came into effect in April 2023, UAE has signed CEPAs with eight countries, including India and Turkey, between 2022 and 2023.