How the Jetour T2 Became One of the UAE's Best-Selling SUVs

Abu Dhabi: The Jetour T2 has moved from a promising newcomer to one of the most aspirational SUVs on UAE roads. Within a short period the sales numbers now back that up. The compact SUV battles in a segment traditionally ruled by rugged, off-road-capable models such as the Nissan Patrol, Toyota Hilux and Toyota Fortuner, and it has managed to pull buyers away from all of them. 

It is interesting to observe how T2 debuted in the Emirati market and became a steady climb, achieving quite a significant feat. This is a first Chinese brand, barely two years old and already taking a stake in the market against names that have dominated the UAE for decades.

A First For Jetour

The clear trend emerged of the T2's popularity when it topped the UAE's best-selling model chart outright, a first for the brand in the Middle East. It pushed past the Nissan Patrol, which has long held that position and remains the second best-selling model for the year overall. 

For a car that only entered this market in early 2024, reaching the top spot ahead of a nameplate as established as the Patrol says a great deal about how quickly buyer habits are shifting.

Model Line	Powertrain	Power	Starting Price
Jetour T2 (petrol)	2.0L turbo, 7-speed DCT, BorgWarner 4WD	390 Nm torque	EMI from AED 1,799/month
Jetour T2 i-DM (hybrid)	1.5L turbo plug-in hybrid, 3-speed DHT	600 hp, 910 Nm torque	NA

Jetour UAE, run locally by Elite Group Holding, sells the T2 as two distinct model lines rather than variants of a single car. The petrol T2 and the T2 i-DM hybrid, which adds a 140km electric-only range and a combined range of up to 800km, is priced on request through Elite Cars showrooms. 

The wider new car market in the UAE has not had an easy run this year. Regional tensions tied to the Iran conflict have weighed on new vehicle sales across the board, and several major brands, including Toyota and Nissan, have posted sharp declines. 

Against that backdrop, Jetour has kept growing rather than slowing down, which stands out even more given how many established names are currently losing ground.

UAE's top-selling model

Rank	Model
1	Jetour T2
2	Nissan Patrol
3	Mitsubishi Outlander
4	Toyota Hilux
5	Nissan Sunny

Rivals Losing Ground

Toyota's SUVs and pickups, long the default choice for UAE families and fleet buyers, have taken a heavy hit this year. The Hilux in particular has slipped well down the sales charts, giving space for alternatives like the T2 to move up. Nissan's lineup has also cooled off compared with last year, even as the Patrol holds on to its position through sheer brand loyalty built over generations.

Jetour has not been immune to the broader slowdown either, but its decline has been far smaller than most rivals, and its position among the UAE's top brands keeps rising. It now sits close behind established names like Mitsubishi in the overall brand rankings, trading places with it depending on the month. That is a real shift in a market where Japanese brands have rarely faced this kind of pressure from a newer entrant.

Chinese Brands Arrive

The T2's rise is part of a bigger pattern rather than an isolated success story in the Emirati market. This is also surely be the scenario across the the overall GCC markets as Chinese brands as a group are showing up in far greater numbers on UAE roads than they were even two years ago. 

BYD has built a solid position among the top sellers, and newer names such as Chery, Jaecoo, Exeed, iCAUR and Omoda have all started appearing in UAE sales tracking for the first time this year. That is a just a shift, since a handful of these brands were barely known to local buyers a short while ago.

What makes these brands a force to reckon with is the similar characteristics: SUV styling and space that used to require a premium badge, now offered at a price closer to a mainstream sedan. UAE buyers, particularly younger professionals and growing families, have been open to that pitch, and Jetour has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of it.

Why Buyers Pick It

Talk to dealers, and the reasons for the T2's popularity tend to repeat themselves.

• Road presence. It looks tough and SUV-like, in a segment where road presence still matters a lot to UAE buyers.
• Equipment for the price. It comes loaded with features that would cost extra on a Japanese rival at a similar price point, from a large touchscreen to a full suite of driver assistance tech.
• Size and value. It is priced low enough that buyers who might otherwise have stretched for an older or smaller Japanese SUV can instead get a bigger, newer, better-equipped Chinese one for similar money.
• Visibility. As more T2s appear on the road, in car parks, and outside schools, buyers who were once unsure about a newer brand become more comfortable with the idea. Word of mouth, more than advertising, seems to be doing a lot of the work here.

A Segment In Flux

The compact and midsize SUV segment in the UAE is no longer a straightforward contest between a handful of Japanese names as it used to be for years. Most buyers now compare the T2 against the Patrol, the Hilux, the Outlander and a growing list of other Chinese entrants, something that would have been unusual just a few years back. 

That does not mean the established brands are losing their core buyers outright. It is actually far from it, because loyalty to Toyota and Nissan in the UAE runs deep, built over decades of trust in reliability and resale value, and hard to beat. But the space around that loyal base, first-time buyers, price-conscious families, and people simply curious about something different is where the T2 and its rivals are making the most ground.

Our Verdict

Clearly these are interesting times in the UAE auto market, especially the way new car buying patterns are shifting. And, if one put it together, the T2's climb highlights a brand finding its footing at exactly the right time. 

Also, as Chinese brands become familiar and their visibility grows, more buyers are open than ever to trying a Chinese SUV, especially one that is a compelling overall bargain and challenge established rivals on price while matching or beating them on equipment. 

Now as we progress further in 2026, it is curious to observe whether that momentum holds. Once the wider market stabilises, it remains to be seen, but for now, the T2 has done something no other Jetour model, and few Chinese cars in general, have managed in this region: topped the sales chart outright, even if only for a month. That alone makes it worth watching closely over the rest of the year.