Dubai Automobile Dealers Call for Crackdown on Cheaper Cars Entering the UAE

A leading automobile executive has called for a clampdown on unsold excess stock coming into the UAE form neighbouring countries and being sold on the grey market, it was reported.

“Many of these cars brought in from neighbouring markets have 0 mileage on them – but none have gone through the stringent third-party inspection and testing at the local level. Today’s vehicles have some of the most advanced electronics on board – can buyers be absolutely sure these would work at all times without the pre-sale inspection being done?” Michel Ayat, CEO of AWR Automotive, and the head of the Dubai Car Dealers Group, said in a report by Gulf News.

With the drop in oil prices and consumers tightening their belts, sales of new cars have dropped across many GCC countries. In a bid to offload excess stock some dealers in other Gulf countries have been shipping new cars to the UAE.

Known as “parallel imports”, such cars can be sold for up to 20 percent less than their new showroom equivalents in the UAE, the report said.

“And because Dubai is a hub market, they try to push those stocks here… Local dealers have to act as a team – the challenges are way too high to tackle individually,” said Ayat. “It’s a good thing the group has been revived after some years…. We will take on parallel imports,” he added.

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