DubiCars’ 10th Anniversary: A Decade In The UAE’s Auto Industry

Established in 2014, DubiCars, the most trusted car marketplace in the UAE, marks its 10th anniversary in 2024. Over the past decade, DubiCars has transformed the way people buy and sell cars in the UAE, offering a seamless, transparent, and efficient platform that has redefined the automotive landscape in the region.

This anniversary is a testament to DubiCars’ customer-centricity, relentless pursuit of innovation, and data-led approach. In this blog, we revisit some of the most memorable milestones of the Dubijourney accompanying its growth over the past decade while also looking at the future with enthusiasm and exhilaration.

The Birth Of A Vision

DubiCars was founded in 2014 with a clear vision: to simplify the car buying and selling process in the UAE. Frans Storm, the founder of DubiCars recognized a gap in the market where traditional methods were complicated, time-consuming, and often lacked transparency.

DubiCars was formed with the mission to bring trust, transparency, and convenience to buying and selling cars, locally and globally. Starting off with a small team of just seven employees, DubiCars kicked off the trend of showcasing informative car listings with high-quality images.

From its inception, DubiCars set out to build a user-friendly platform that offered verified listings, detailed car descriptions, high-quality images, and essential information to help users make informed decisions. This approach resonated with the market, and the platform quickly gained traction.

1. Partnering with Car Dealerships

At launch, DubiCars began catering to dealerships from Dubai & Sharjah. Within a few months of its formation, the brand clocked 293 unique active dealers in 2014 and saw an impressive 11,813 ad listings posted in the year it was established. By 2016, DubiCars had started catering to other Emirates in the UAE.

Within just four years, DubiCars became the largest online car marketplace in the UAE for dealerships. By offering a wide range of vehicles, from budget-friendly options to luxury cars, DubiCars catered to a diverse audience, making it the go-to platform for anyone looking to buy or sell a car in the UAE. In 2024, DubiCars stood at just under 34,000 listings, with more than 500 dealers on board.

2. Pioneering High-Quality Images & Listing Management

DubiCars has been offering its operations services since its inception in 2014. It was the first car listings platform to offer photo and video services to dealers, in addition to managing their ads online, thereby helping the dealers present their stock to viewers in the best way possible. By doing so, DubiCars became a pioneer in the industry and set an example for years to come.

A few years later, photography and videography services were offered to private sellers too. 10 years after its launch, DubiCars still continues to feature detailed images and videos on select listings. Scheduling a photo/video session can be done at the click of a button and within a short period, professional pictures of a vehicle appear on its listed ad.

3. The DubiCars App-First Approach

DubiCars as a brand has always had a futuristic outlook and this led to the development of the DubiCars App. The DubiCars app first went live on the App Store for iOS devices in 2016. The Android app followed shortly, with a launch in 2017. With over 2 million downloads combined, and over 500,000 active users, it certainly is an app you can’t gloss over.

Since the launch of the app, DubiCars has been in a relentless pursuit to turn into an app-first company. In 2023, the brand achieved this milestone with a fresh new design, and all of DubiCars’ products and services are now accessible through the app. Whether you’re buying, selling, or researching a car, DubiCars’ app is the place to be.

4. Private Sellers’ Haven

In order to cater to the common man trying to sell a car online, DubiCars launched its Private Seller section in 2017. With a simple sell-flow, a detailed description section, and an option to automatically generate a description for the car, sellers can now easily list their car/s for sale on DubiCars.

In 2023, as a part of its mission to simplify and optimize the selling journey, DubiCars redesigned the private sellers’ section to provide quick and easy app access in a trendy yet user-friendly flow, with multiple packages catering to all seller needs.

5. Control Auto: The Digital Transformation

To revolutionise the way car dealerships operate in the UAE, DubiCars launched its own SaaS platform (Software as a Service) named Control Auto in 2019. Control Auto remains the only SaaS solution in the Middle East dedicated to automotive dealerships.

It simplifies the process of posting, managing, and editing listings on DubiCars, and also enables sharing on the web and on multiple social channels with a click of a button, thereby giving dealers control of their business at their fingertips. Car dealers who want to grow their business can get in touch with us to get exclusive access to Control Auto & so much more.

6. ExportSafe: Shipping Your Car Made Easy

Launched in 2020, DubiCars’ ExportSafe is a management service that catered successfully to more than 60 countries worldwide. With advanced tools like shipping cost calculator, DubiCars’ ExportSafe helps thousands ship their next car to any port, providing easy sourcing, bulk savings, expert help & secure transactions, proving to be the safest, easiest, and fastest way to export a car from the UAE.

7. The New Cars Information Section

With many in the process of looking for their next new car in the UAE, DubiCars’ New Cars Information Section became a one-stop shop for all car-related information. Designed to help with pre-purchase research, the new cars section was launched in 2023 and has seen an average growth of 71.74% month on month so far.

Also launched in 2023, the car comparison section allows car researchers to compare up to three models and get suggestions based on their preferences. A section that provides the features, specs, high-quality images, and more of the cars in comparison, It can also directly provide access to listings for that particular car from hundreds of sellers on DubiCars.

We live in an era where information is consumed in a jiffy and this audience needs its information through different social channels. DubiCars caters to this audience through its social media channels and active blog section. Whether via trendy Instagram reels, detailed car review videos on YouTube, or in-depth articles on the DubiCars blog, the media section of DubiCars is active and vibrant on a daily basis.

DubiCars provides the latest information about cars both local and global, through the DubiCars Blog or one of DubiCars’ many social channels:

8. The Road To A Data-Driven Approach

DubiCars places a firm emphasis on data-driven excellence, believing that the best way to help its dealers achieve greater success is to arm them with more data and give them independent and real-time insights on the industry.

After undergoing extensive workshops and in-depth number-crunching analysis sessions, DubiCars has unveiled a cutting-edge, data-rich Dealer Value Report unlike any other in the industry. This report empowers car dealerships to make informed, data-driven decisions with confidence.

DubiCars’ Dealer Value Report includes:

Account Performance Summary
Package Usage & Listings Quality Ratings
Stock Valuation & Pricing Analysis
Leads Distribution Analysis
Market Demand & Stock Recommendation

Launched in 2024, the all-new data-packed dealer value report is designed to empower you with the insights you need to drive smart business decisions

9. Workforce Expansion & Customer Success Department

It all started with a team of just seven employees in 2014, based out of the Dubai office. 10 years later, DubiCars has grown to a workforce of over 70 employees in three offices based in Dubai, Islamabad, and Lahore in Pakistan. With a growing workforce, DubiCars is able to dedicate more resources to help its customers succeed and grow.

The formation of the Customer Success Department in 2024 further substantiates our tagline ‘Your Success Is Our Business.’ This department further boosts engagement with customers by catering to their requests and providing solutions to their problems with the fastest response rate in the industry.

10. 2023 – 2024: Unprecedented Growth

Post the pandemic, the UAE’s car market made a rapid recovery. Fully supporting the UAE’s car market and its growth, DubiCars also showcased unprecedented growth levels. Around 45 new car makes and 250+ new car models were added to DubiCars’ database in 2023, showcasing more options in the market than ever before.

DubiCars also witnessed around 40% year-on-year growth in traffic and leads. In 2023, DubiCars reported a 971% growth in the number of ads posted when compared to 2014 and the number of impressions on these ads crossed 2.1 billion. In addition, the number of unique active dealers in 2023 increased by 104% compared to 2014.

A similar growth is replicated in 2024, the year that marks 10 years of the brand’s existence. In the first six months alone, DubiCars has reported over 500 unique active dealers, over 55,501 new ad listings, and over 896 million impressions. These are impressive figures and the rest of the year is expected to bring more growth.

Reliable web traffic analytics sites such as SimilarWeb have constantly ranked DubiCars the number one in the UAE under the ‘automotive industry’ category. With an average visit duration of over five minutes, DubiCars is among the most engaging websites in the country.

Commitment To Customer Satisfaction

DubiCars’ success can be largely attributed to its unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. The platform offers a wide range of automotive services designed to make the car buying, selling, and researching process as smooth as possible.

Customer feedback has always played a crucial role in DubiCars’ evolution. The company actively seeks to improve users’ NPS scores across all sections and continuously works on improving its services based on consumer suggestions. This customer-centric approach has helped DubiCars build a loyal user base and establish itself as a trusted name in the industry.

The Road Ahead

As DubiCars looks to the future, it remains focused on its mission to revolutionise the automotive market in the UAE. The company plans to continue investing in technology, expanding its range of services, and enhancing the customer experience.

Craig Stevens, CEO of DubiCars said, “2024 is a very special year for DubiCars because we’re celebrating our 10th Anniversary, and we can only celebrate that because of our loyal customers. Thank you so much for your support over the last 10 years. We’ve done a lot in the last 10 years and will do a lot more in the next 10 years.”

With the UAE’s automotive market evolving rapidly, DubiCars is well-positioned to adapt to changing trends and maintain its leadership position. One area of focus for DubiCars is the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs). The platform already features a dedicated section for electric vehicles, providing buyers easy access to EVs on sale in the UAE.

DubiCars is focused on the local market and looks to dig deeper into the vertical by providing more data, insights, and services that support dealers in being successful online.

Celebrating A Decade of Success

DubiCars’ 10th anniversary is a celebration of a remarkable journey that has seen the company grow from a startup to a market leader. It is a testament to the vision, hard work, and dedication of the team, past & present. As the company celebrates this milestone, it extends its gratitude to its loyal clients and partners, celebrating with them in its second edition of the DubiCars Awards taking place in October 2024.

DubiCars looks forward to the next decade with optimism and determination, ready to embrace new challenges and opportunities. Committing to excellence and customer satisfaction, DubiCars is poised to continue leading the way in the UAE’s automotive market for years to come.