Mercedes-Benz began a new era in auto finance in the UAE today with the signing today of a joint venture between Daimler Financial Services, one of the world’s leading provider of automotive financial services, the Al Fahim Group, owners of Emirates Motor Company, the authorised distributor of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Abu Dhabi, and Gargash Enterprises, the official Mercedes-Benz distributor in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates.
The all-new Porsche Panamera made its UAE debut at an event hosted in Abu Dhabi for customers and media. It was also the first time that the Panamera sedan has gone on sale outside Europe, as the GCC is the second region to make the car available in showrooms.
The facelifted 2010 Range Rover has been launched in the UAE and other GCC markets. Uncannily popular in rich cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the Tata-owned company’s Range Rover model has sold well in its current shape, which was developed under BMW ownership and marketed during Ford management. The new version changes little on the outside, but major updates reside under the skin.
Kia fans and enthusiasts will get the chance to test drive some of their favourite cars during the 2009 Kia Road Show, touring the country through October with stops at the four major emirates.
The 2010 Chevrolet Cruze, GM’s all-new Korean-built compact sedan that is surprisingly more anticipated in the Middle East than we expected it to be, is now available in Saudi Arabia and possibly a few other GCC countries, according to reports by our readers. There is no official word yet from GM’s regional headquarters in Dubai, but the Cruze is listed in Chevrolet’s UAE website.
The American-built Nissan Altima has received a minor facelift for the 2010 model year, with a mildly-changed interior and some tech enhancements to its navigation and entertainment systems. Available as a sedan and a coupe, the new Altima will first go on sale in the U.S. this October, with a possible GCC release by this winter.
The U.S. NHTSA safety agency has alerted Lexus and Toyota owners about conditions that could cause the accelerator to get stuck in the pressed position under certain conditions. The agency “strongly recommends” taking out removable floor mats on the driver’s side in certain models and not to replace them with any other mat, either from Toyota or any other brand. After numerous reported “unintended acceleration” incidents, Toyota is now conducting a major recall on 3.8 million affected cars, but only in the United States.
Highly-anticipated by the Honda community, the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show in October will mark the debut of the Honda CR-Z hybrid concept again, except this time it is a near-production version. The sporty-but-slow CR-Z, slated for Japanese production early next year, is a revival of the Honda CR-X from the 1980s. Based on the Civic of that time, with a puny engine and decent suspension, it became somewhat popular among budget-minded car enthusiasts. The new CR-Z is expected to be exclusively hybrid.
The BMW 7 Series is currently the best-selling car in the premium automotive segment in the Middle East. Buoyed by the launch of the fifth-generation of the flagship model late last year, the BMW Group recorded sales of 2,949 units of the BMW 7 Series across the Middle East from January-August 2009.
Mitsubishi’s Australian division is the one to announce the redesign of the 2010 Outlander, featuring a new nose that mimics that of the Lancer Evo for no apparent reason.