Chinese SUV specialist Jetour eyes massive Middle East expansion

Car-making giant plans to roll out no less than 10 new models by next year

The Jetour T2 has been one of the most popular cars to hit the road in the UAE. Photo: Jetour

China’s Jetour has made rapid inroads since entering the UAE market in 2020, with the popular Dashing and Land Rover Defender-esque T2 selling out virtually as quickly as the local dealership – Elite Group Holding – can land the vehicles here.

However, the SUV specialist marque – a subsidiary of Chinese car-making giant Chery Automobile Company – is just getting started, and plans are in place to turn Dubai into a regional supply hub for the brand.

The company has revealed plans to use Dubai as a launch pad to supply the rest of the GCC countries with its vehicles, adding that Jebel Ali will be the regional manufacturing area.

While specific details on the proposed local manufacturing plant haven’t been shared for now, what is known is that Jetour plans to roll out no less than 10 new models by 2026, catering to a broad range of buyer requirements and budgets in the SUV sector.

Jetour’s burgeoning local model line-up already includes the T1, T2, Dashing, X90 Plus, X70 and X50, with prices ranging from just under Dh70,000 to around Dh150,000.

A Chery Jetour XWD at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai. AFP

The flourishing Chery subsidiary notched up about 560,000 global sales in 2024, and Ke Chuandeng, president of Jetour International, said the tally should top 800,000 vehicles this year. Although the majority of these are domestic sales, the Middle East, Latin America, Russia and Africa already account for about 35 per cent of the brand’s sales volume. The stated goal is that overseas sales should hit 50 per cent of the total in a few years.

“We believe that in three to five years, the international market will be higher, or at least equal to, our sales in the domestic market,” Ke told Reuters at the recent Shanghai auto show.

Jetour’s ambitions to grow its international footprint will soon receive an additional boost as it plans to launch in some European markets in the third quarter of this year. The aim is to sell cars across much of the continent by 2027, according to company executives.

Incidentally, the Jetour name is an amalgamation of the words “jet” and “tour”, which, according to the brand, signifies a “convenient journey”.

The explosion of Chinese brands in the UAE market has been one of the big stories in recent years, with Jetour now vying for market share against the likes of BYD, Geely Haval, Changan, GAC, JAC, Great Wall, NIO, Zeekr, Hongqi and others, including its own Chery stablemates Jaecoo and Omoda.

Local buyers may have been sceptical of Chinese vehicles a decade ago, but vast improvements in design, driving dynamics and build quality in recent years have elevated these brands into genuine competitors for Japanese, Korean and even European offerings.

In most cases, Chinese brands back their cars with lengthy warranties and load them with generous equipment levels, adding to their strong value proposition.