Why Are Japanese Cars So Popular In The UAE & GCC Nations? Here Are A Few Reasons

In terms of size, Japan is a small island nation with an area that is slightly lower than Oman & UAE combined. However, its contributions to the automotive industry are much greater than even the largest countries in the world.

In terms of technology, safety, reliability, or durability, Japanese cars are known to provide more value for money to their owners than cars from any other region. In the UAE and several other Middle-Eastern countries, Japanese cars are extremely popular. In this blog article, we take a look at just why Japanese cars are so admired and sought-after.

Modern cars are generally very reliable and can undertake long journeys without much preparation, hence, the term ‘Bulletproof Reliability’ is loosely thrown around these days. However, things weren’t quite the same a decade or two ago. Only Japanese cars were capable of undertaking such a task without much preparation.

There’s a rather cheeky phrase that’s quite commonly used in the off-road community — ‘If you want to get into the bush, use a Land Rover/Jeep. If you want to get into and out of the bush, use a Land Cruiser.’ The ‘Bush’ here refers to the Australian outback, which is known to have the harshest off-road driving conditions in the world. The Toyota Land Cruiser is a perfect example of Japanese bulletproof reliability and undisputed durability. 

Spotting a Land Cruiser that has broken down is rare than spotting a 1 of 1 supercar in the UAE. Know more about the history & generations of the Toyota Land Cruiser. It is not very surprising then, that the Land Cruiser is the most popular SUV in the UAE by a large margin. The aforementioned phrase focuses on the Land Cruiser, however, all Japanese cars have this character.

Japanese cars come with the lowest cost of ownership in the world. This is applicable to all automobile markets across the globe. More often than not, Japanese cars would have lower maintenance and ownership costs than locally-produced cars and imported cars. As a result, more people opt for a Japanese car.

In the UAE for example, the most popular sedan is the Nissan Sunny, followed by the Toyota Camry. These sedans are perfect examples of low maintenance costs, and they are quite fuel efficient as well. Therefore, the overall cost of ownership is much lower compared to the equivalent European or American car.

One of the most attractive aspects of Japanese cars is the fact that there is a broad spectrum of cars to choose from. If you’re out to pick a small hatchback for your in-city runabouts, there’s are cars like the Nissan Tiida & Suzuki Swift for you. If it is a mid-size SUV that you’re after, you can pick between the Mitsubishi Pajero, Toyota Prado & Nissan X-Terra.

If you want a luxury sedan, the Lexus LS & Infiniti Q50 are sure to impress. If you want to turn up the heat, there are performance cars like the Honda Civic Type-R, Lexus RC-F, Lexus LC500, Toyota Supra, Toyota GT86, Nissan Z, Nissan GT-R, and the list goes on.

The point is, Japanese car manufacturers offer a wide variety of cars that are sure to impress everyone.

There is no dearth of support for Japanese cars in the market. Today, one can drive into a Toyota service centre with a Land Cruiser 40-Series made in 1955 and still find parts for it. The same experience can be had with Nissan Patrol Y60 from 1987. Japanese cars find service and parts support from the OEM as well as from aftermarket garages and parts shops well after production of that particular model has ended.

If you’re looking at modifying your car too, there are innumerable options in the aftermarket. Everything from turbochargers and superchargers to wheels, tyres, suspension kits, exhaust systems, intakes, and ECUs are all available for most Japanese cars out there.

As a result of the aforementioned advantages of having a Japanese car, another major advantage gets added to the list — high resale value. It is easy to find buyers for Japanese cars, and at the same time, it is easy to quote high prices and still secure a deal. Everyone is aware of the fact that Japanese cars generally fetch higher prices.

In addition to this, some Japanese cars also command immense respect from other motorists and even pedestrians. Cars like the Toyota Land Cruiser & Nissan Patrol are highly respected in the UAE and in other GCC nations. If you turn up in one of these two SUVs, you are guaranteed to receive more respect than some other SUVs in the same price bracket.

All Japanese car manufacturers are popular in the UAE. However, Toyota and Nissan are certainly the most popular. Then come brands like Lexus, Mitsubishi, Honda, Suzuki, Infiniti, and Subaru.

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