The automotive landscape in the UAE is rapidly evolving, with shifting customer expectations, emerging brands, and technology playing bigger roles than ever. To get a firsthand look at how these changes are shaping the market, we spoke with Paul, Marketing Manager at Approved. Drawing on his deep industry experience, Paul explains how Approved is navigating growth, embracing digital tools, and tailoring the customer experience to meet the diverse needs of the region’s buyers. He also shares straightforward insights on what’s shaping the future of premium car sales in the region, including Approved’s expansion plans and the growing impact of Chinese car brands.
Part 1: Understanding the Premium Automotive Market Segment
From your experience, can you tell us a bit more about the difference between a GCC specification car vs a non-GCC specification car in the region?
The key difference is that GCC spec cars usually come with a clearer history, making it easier to track how they were used or maintained. For example, some non-GCC spec cars may have been damaged or written off before being exported. At Approved, we sell both GCC and Japanese spec cars. Japanese-spec cars are made for export, so they are left-hand drive and are the same quality as GCC cars. The only difference you might notice is the infotainment system, which we always localize by changing the language and GPS settings so it works perfectly in the UAE. Since Japanese manufacturing is known for quality and reliability, these cars are often just as good as GCC ones.
How do you go about reaching and targeting high-end luxury car buyers through your marketing efforts?
We start by identifying who these buyers are, where they live in Dubai, what they like, and how they spend their time outside of work, then find ways to naturally show up where they are. We use services like SeezBoost to map their profiles and behaviors, allowing us to run highly targeted campaigns across the right digital channels. Alongside that, we focus heavily on organic content through Approved Automotive’s social media, especially YouTube, where we share creative and entertaining videos that stand out from typical dealership content. Campaigns like “Tint My Ride,” inspired by the classic show Pimp My Ride, and “Mission Tint Possible,” timed around the latest Mission Impossible release, are designed to catch attention and connect with our audience through familiar pop culture references. These types of campaigns not only drive engagement but also make luxury car buyers feel like they’re part of something fun and premium, which helps build trust and interest in the brand
Approved also has a detailing arm. How does that side of the business complement your core offering?
They definitely complement each other because buying a car, especially one that costs 400,000 to 500,000 dirhams, is more than a transaction. It is an experience and a serious investment. On the showroom side, we focus on curating that experience, and on the detailing side, we help protect the customer’s investment through services like PPF, ceramic coating, and tinting. These are not just add-ons; they actually help maintain the car’s condition and resale value by shielding it from Dubai’s harsh driving conditions like sand, gravel, and sun damage. So when the time comes to sell or trade in, the car still looks pristine, and the drop in value is lower. At this price point, customers are often financing with monthly payments ranging from 3,000 to 30,000 dirhams, so our goal is to make sure they feel confident that their investment is protected, not just during the purchase but long after they drive off.
Part 2: Customer Experience in Omni-Channel
What are some of the things you do at Approved to ensure customers receive a premium experience, and how do you deliver it across the car-buying journey?
At Approved, the premium experience starts the moment you walk into our spacious showroom in Al Quoz. Whether you buy or just visit, we want you to enjoy the space and feel free to explore the cars at your own pace. We are adding unique touches like a barber service and soon a cigar lounge, so while your car is being detailed, wrapped, or washed, you can relax, work, or enjoy great coffee in our comfortable lounge. Our friendly team greets you warmly but never crowds you, offering help only when needed, making sure you feel valued but not pressured. Beyond the physical experience, we also focus on digital convenience with tools like Seezar, which provides quick answers online and supports our customers 24/7. From the moment you consider a purchase to after-sales care, we make sure every step is smooth, personal, and attentive.
How are you shaping your brand’s online and digital experience today, and what areas are you investing in to enhance it in the future?
One of our biggest investments right now is in providing instant, accurate responses to our customers 24/7 through Seezar. We know people want quick replies and sometimes cannot reach us during business hours, especially those working typical 9 to 8 jobs or outside of our reception hours. Even though we are open late, sometimes until midnight during Ramadan, there are always customers who need answers when we are closed. Seezar helps by handling questions instantly, giving detailed info about inventory, prices, and more, and capturing customer contact details so our team can follow up promptly during working hours. For example, if someone asks about the price of a black Defender they saw last weekend, Seezar can provide the price immediately and offer to connect them with a sales rep. While it does not replace human interaction, it makes sure no lead or question gets missed, especially since over 40 percent of inquiries come in outside of our office hours.
How do you tailor your messaging to address different audiences across different channels?
At Approved, we tailor our messaging by focusing on language and cultural relevance both in person and online. Our diverse team speaks many languages like French, Urdu, Tagalog, Arabic, Spanish, and Swedish, which helps us connect personally with customers by speaking their preferred language. We also match customers with sales ambassadors who resemble them or share similar backgrounds to create a more relatable and comfortable experience. Online, we adapt content and communication styles based on the audience’s cultural background and preferred platforms. For example, we create targeted campaigns on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Telegram, and LinkedIn, each tailored to specific communities and languages. We even develop separate Telegram channels in Russian to reach Russian-speaking customers effectively. Whether engaging in person or through digital tools like Seezar, we provide honest, concierge-style guidance tailored to each customer’s needs and budget, building trust and making the car-buying journey feel personal and transparent.
Part 3: Building the Right Tools and Teams
How important are tools like CRMs or internal dashboards to your daily operations, and how are you investing in them to drive better decisions in the future?
Tools like CRMs are absolutely critical to our daily operations because we handle a huge amount of data from various sources, whether it’s walk-ins, phone calls, WhatsApp messages, or leads from digital platforms like Dubizzle and social media. We’re lucky to have a founder who is a Salesforce expert, and with his help, we built one of the most advanced CRM systems in the region, centered around Salesforce. Every inquiry, lead, sale, and even marketing and finance activities go through this system, giving us a full 360-degree view of the customer. This helps us tailor the customer experience better and ensures continuity even if team members leave or change roles because all interactions, negotiations, and follow-ups are recorded and easily accessible. We also monitor phone calls and WhatsApp chats through the CRM to understand how conversations happen and where each customer is in the process. As we grow and expand, building scalable processes is key. We design everything with growth in mind so that as our team gets bigger and the number of cars we sell increases, our operations and customer service stay seamless and consistent.
As the company grows, how do you build processes that scale?
We try to build processes that can scale by focusing heavily on the customer’s luxurious experience at every stage, before, during, and after the sale. In marketing, it’s more straightforward because the same campaign can apply to 20 or 200 cars. But across other departments like the showroom and detailing, we are actively putting more processes in place to ensure consistency as we grow. Everything ties back to the experience, how the customer feels walking in, whether they buy or not, and how we take care of them after the purchase. That is why we offer service packages, warranties of up to three years, and even a buyback guarantee, because we want customers to feel confident and supported, and we only sell cars we would buy ourselves.
Part 4: Industry Perspective
Are there any trends you’re keeping an eye on in the automotive space? And what does the future look like for Approved?
We’re definitely watching the rise of AI and the growing influence of Chinese car brands, but we believe that customers looking for premium vehicles like BMWs or Range Rovers won’t easily switch to brands like BYD unless they’re specifically drawn to tech-focused alternatives. As for Approved, the future looks exciting. We’re expanding our facility by the end of summer, which will include a new storage area for customers, a body shop for detailing and repairs, and a larger inventory. This means we’ll be able to sell more cars and also buy more from customers. With more people moving to the UAE and seeking reliable used cars from trusted dealerships, we’re in a strong position to grow further and continue offering a wide range of quality services.
What’s your take on the rise of Chinese car brands in the region? How do you think it is going to impact the market in the coming years?
Chinese car brands are going to keep growing and take over a significant part of the market, just like Japanese and Korean brands did years ago. Back then, people doubted their safety and quality, but now we all drive them. The Chinese are following a similar path: rapid expansion, a wide variety of models, and even creating luxury sub-brands like BYD’s Denza or Geely’s Zeekr and Lynk & Co. The big question is resale value, which we’ll only know after a few years, but that’s also improving as their models become more consistent. It’s impressive how fast they’re catching up, and if they keep going this way, I think they’ll become a permanent fixture in the market.
Paul’s final ‘brake’ down:
Spending time with someone who’s deep in the used car space really shows you how fast things are moving. The UAE market is growing, competition is heating up, and new brands, especially from China, are shaking things up just like the Japanese and Korean automakers did years ago. It’s a cycle we’ve seen before, and it feels like we’re right in the middle of another big shift. But growth isn’t just about new brands or flashy features. It’s about how fast businesses adapt, whether that’s Approved expanding into servicing and storage, or the industry figuring out resale values for newer players.
