Abu Dhabi's BMW drivers defied a region-wide trend last year as the German luxury car maker's sales in the capital rose almost 6 per cent.
"Demands of people [in Abu Dhabi] are increasing," said Arno Husselmann, the general manager of Abu Dhabi Motors, BMW's dealership in the capital. "These are people who fly first class, stay in the best hotels in the world, shop in the best boutiques and eat in the best restaurants."
BMW sold more than 2,600 cars in the capital last year with the X6 model its best-selling marque.
The dealership's total revenue in Abu Dhabi jumped 30 per cent to Dh1.15 billion (US$313m), including sales, car servicing and part replacement, Mr Husselmann said.
Car sales last month were up about 60 per cent compared with the same period last year, he added.
BMW sales in Dubai fell about 25 per cent, the company said. Dubai remains the car maker's largest market in the Middle East with about 3,000 cars sold.
The total number of BMWs sold in the UAE last year was about 5,600, including the BMW brand and Minis. Rolls-Royces, also a unit of BMW, were not included in BMW's sales figures.
While BMW, the world's largest premium car maker, posted a drop of about 15 per cent in global sales last year, it has increasingly turned to emerging markets such as China, Brazil and the Middle East to boost its bottom line.
BMW's total sales in the Middle East declined by 9 per cent to 14,557 cars sold, the company said.
The luxury car sector is expected to have shrunk by about 25 per cent last year, with Lexus and Mercedes-Benz among the hardest-hit brands.
Mercedes-Benz sales last year dropped by 19 per cent in the region to roughly 15,200 cars, while Bentley sold 550 cars for the latest year, little changed from the previous one.
Al Futtaim Motors, which sells the Lexus and Toyota brands in the UAE, said that it sold between 55,000 and 66,000 cars in the country last year, compared with 98,000 cars in 2008.
"We believe new models and the expansion of dealership networks to cover a greater area will contribute, as will an improved economy," said Anna-Marie Baisden, the head of car research for Business Monitor International, who has forecast 8 per cent growth for this year.
"However, the recent situation in Dubai will obviously pose a risk to this scenario, so we will be keeping a close eye on this with a view to reviewing our forecast."
@Email:dgeorgecosh@thenational.ae
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')
Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Wonka
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Paul%20King%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3ETimothee%20Chalamet%2C%20Olivia%20Colman%2C%20Hugh%20Grant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0