Dubai: A new Chinese-made vehicle is now on the UAE car market. Distributed exclusively by Swaidan Trading Company, a member of the Al Naboodah Group, Florid will be the first passenger car from the Great Wall Motors in the UAE. It caters to consumers who are looking for a low-budget car.
Priced at only Dh32,500, the low-budget vehicle comes with a 100,000 km warranty.
"I think with the whole car and financial environment right now, the consumer is more aware of his spending power and what he's going to spend and what kind of car he will go for," said Swaidan Saeed Al Naboodah, Chairman of Al Naboodah Commercial Group.
"I think there's a lot of potential for affordable, durable and good quality cars, especially when you want to compete against the best in the market which are the Japanese."
Al Naboodah said the Chinese cars in general and the Great Wall Motors in particular have been progressing much in terms of research.
The car has been on the road in the UAE for six months for testing, said Madhavan Pillai, Group General Manager at Al Naboodah Commercial Group.
"It's the logical next step for them [Great Wall Motors]," said Al Naboodah. The company has been supplying the market for the past few years with commercial vehicles such as pickups.
While the company didn't say how many units they are expected to sell over the next year, they said that they currently have 50,000 in stock.
"We are very optimistic, but I can't make a guess on how many units we will sell," said Samar Roy, Managing Director at Al Naboodah Commercial Group. "We need to give the customer some time. We don't want to push or rush the customer.
"The plan is to introduce one suitable product and see where it goes from there, but for sure there are things coming down the line," Al Naboodah added.
