The short version
- Rox Motors opened a factory in Abu Dhabi and started producing the Adamas — a UAE-designed SUV — locally.
- The Adamas is expected to sit in the mid-range SUV pricing tier, competing with the likes of MG, Chery, and Jetour.
- About a quarter of CarSwitch buyers are searching for hybrids, but only about 1% of used listings are hybrid — that gap is where new brands can win.
- SUVs still dominate: roughly 63% of all listings and about half of all buyer searches on CarSwitch are SUVs.
- If you’re curious about Chinese-brand newcomers, watch the used market in 12–18 months — that’s when resale data will tell you whether they hold value.
A car built in Abu Dhabi — that’s new for cars in UAE
Rox Motors just opened a manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi’s KEZAD industrial zone. The first model rolling off the line is the Adamas, a mid-size SUV designed in the UAE and assembled locally. That makes it one of the first passenger cars in UAE history to be produced on home soil.
The company is a joint venture backed by Chinese automotive expertise and UAE investment. It’s positioning the Adamas as a tech-forward family SUV at a price point meant to undercut established names.
What we know about the Adamas so far
Details are still emerging, but here’s what Rox has confirmed. The Adamas is a five-seat SUV with a body size close to a Hyundai Tucson or Chery Tiggo 8. It will launch with a turbocharged petrol powertrain, with hybrid and fully electric versions reportedly planned.
Standard features are expected to include a large touchscreen, ADAS driver-assist systems, and connected-car tech. The interior leans heavily on screens and digital controls — following the playbook that BYD and other Chinese manufacturers have used successfully.
No official price has been announced, but industry observers expect the Adamas to land somewhere in the AED 90,000–130,000 bracket. That would put it squarely against Chinese-brand SUVs like Jetour, Chery, and GAC — and below the Koreans and Japanese.
Why Chinese brands keep arriving — and what the data shows
The Adamas isn’t arriving in a vacuum. Over the past two years, Chinese-brand cars in UAE showrooms have gone from rare to routine. BYD, Chery, Jetour, Haval, GAC, Hongqi — the list keeps growing.
One big reason: there’s a mismatch between what buyers want and what’s available. According to CarSwitch listings data (July 2026), about a quarter of buyers searching on CarSwitch want a hybrid. But hybrids make up only about 1% of used car supply. That’s a massive gap, and Chinese brands are racing to fill it with affordable hybrid and electric models.
Hybrid buyer searches: 24.5% of all fuel-type searches
Hybrid share of listings: 1.2% (Q1 2025)
SUV share of all listings: 63.3%
“A quarter of our buyers are asking for hybrids, but there’s almost nothing available in the used market yet. New entrants like Rox are reading that signal correctly.”
Imad Hammad, CEO and co-founder of CarSwitch
SUVs still run this market
Rox picked the right body style. SUVs account for roughly 63% of all listings on CarSwitch and about half of all buyer searches. Sedans come second at about 28% of listings and 24% of searches. Everything else — hatchbacks, coupes, pickups — is in single digits.
So launching an SUV isn’t a bold move. It’s table stakes. The question is whether Rox can offer enough for buyers to choose the Adamas over a Nissan Patrol for sale or a used luxury SUV from an established name.
| Quarter | Petrol | Hybrid | Electric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | 96% | 3% | 1% |
| Q4 2024 | 96% | 1% | 2% |
| Q1 2025 | 96% | 1% | 3% |
| Q2 2025 | — | — | 3% |
Electric listings have crept up from about 1% to about 3% in under a year. Hybrids have barely budged. If Rox delivers on its hybrid Adamas variant, it could land in a part of the market with very little competition on the used side.
The resale question nobody can answer yet
Here’s the honest part. We don’t have resale data on the Adamas because it didn’t exist until now. And most Chinese-brand cars in UAE are still too new to have a meaningful second-hand track record.
What we do know is that luxury SUVs on CarSwitch hold about 79% of their value after two years and around 76% after three (CarSwitch listings data, July 2026). That’s the benchmark any newcomer has to match if it wants to be taken seriously by resale-conscious buyers.
A car that costs AED 110,000 new but drops to AED 60,000 in three years is not a good buy — no matter how many screens it has. We’ll be watching the Adamas closely as used units start appearing. If you’re shopping for used cars for sale in Abu Dhabi, it may be worth waiting to see how early Adamas models hold up before buying new.
What this means if you’re shopping now
If you want a mid-size SUV today, you have plenty of proven options across used cars in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota all have strong resale records and large parts networks in the UAE.
If you’re drawn to the Adamas specifically — maybe the local-production angle, maybe the tech, maybe the price — consider waiting six to twelve months. By then, early owners will have real-world feedback, service centre networks will be clearer, and the first pre-owned units may appear on platforms like CarSwitch with inspection-verified condition reports.
The UAE car market is changing. New brands are arriving faster than ever, and buyer demand for hybrids and electrics is well ahead of what’s available. The Adamas won’t be the last locally produced car. But it might be the one that proves whether “made in the UAE” resonates with buyers — or remains a footnote.
Browse 2,400+ inspection-verified cars on CarSwitch and find your next car with transparent pricing, real people, and no hidden surprises.
The Adamas is a mid-size SUV designed in the UAE and manufactured at a new Rox Motors factory in Abu Dhabi’s KEZAD zone. It’s one of the first passenger cars to be produced locally in the UAE.
No official price yet, but it’s expected to land somewhere between AED 90,000 and AED 130,000 — putting it in the same bracket as other Chinese-brand SUVs sold in the UAE.
Barely. About a quarter of CarSwitch buyers search for hybrids, but only about 1% of used listings are hybrids. That gap is one reason new brands are rushing to offer hybrid and electric models.
It’s worth waiting six to twelve months. By then you’ll have real-world owner feedback, clearer service network details, and possibly the first pre-owned units with proper inspection reports.
