Al Ghurair Mobility Drives RELY Pickup Launch in UAE with Chery Partnership

Big moves are brewing in the UAE’s pickup truck scene. Al Ghurair Mobility has inked an exclusive deal with Chery Group to introduce their new brand, RELY, to the Emirates—making the UAE the first country anywhere in the world to roll out this fresh line of commercial vehicles. Now, if you ask me, it’s a canny play: the region’s appetite for efficient and reliable workhorses is only getting bigger, especially in logistics and construction, so a new contender could really shake things up.

According to John Iossifidis, Group CEO of Al Ghurair, this agreement isn’t just about adding another brand to their catalogue. He’s convinced that bringing RELY to Dubai puts the UAE bang on the map as a global hub for innovation in transport and mobility. “Together, we will introduce advanced, reliable and efficient commercial vehicle solutions that drive economic growth and accelerate the UAE’s infrastructure ambitions,” he said. And to be fair, that’s a mission I’ve heard echoed countless times at Arageek events, where startups and business leaders talk shop about how the right partnerships can turbocharge a whole sector.

Bao Siyu, Chery Group’s executive president, stressed that the RELY launch is not just a one-off. Backed by their own research and development might, RELY vehicles are meant to tick all the boxes for modern fleet operators—performance, durability, and a slice of intelligent ‘smart’ functionality, too. That said, entering a crowded market—and this one’s a bit of a jungle—means RELY will need to go the extra mile to prove its worth. Whether they’ll be able to do that, only time will tell.

What jumps out is RELY’s ambition beyond the norm: Chery wants it to be a global benchmark for both new energy and clever engineering in pickups. Instead of choosing between old-school fuel guzzlers or swinging to extremes with wild EVs, they’re aiming for a practical, tech-driven middle path—what they call accessibility that anyone can get on board with, no matter the size of their business. I reckon that’s spot on for what local entrepreneurs are looking for, since not everyone fancies overcomplicated bells and whistles, you know?

Al Ghurair’s no stranger to big bets—they’ve been at the heart of food, property, and infrastructure in the Middle East for over sixty years, branching out into mobility only recently. The family business has its fingerprints all over UAE’s growth, and they seem chuffed to bits about pushing into the next frontier. Headquartered in Dubai, they employ around 28,000 people across more than 20 countries. Quite the footprint.

On the flip side, launching an entirely new brand isn’t without its hurdles (it can be a bit of a faff, logistically speaking). Fleet managers will be watching closely to see if the promises about reliability and cost-efficiency are met, and believe it or not, the brand’s roots in Chinese manufacturing might raise a few eyebrows until the trucks prove themselves in real-world conditions.

Still, from where I’m sitting, it’s exactly these sorts of bold plays that keep the region’s entrepreneurial spirit ticking. At Arageek, energising and empowering new business feels like a personal mission—sometimes all it takes is one fresh idea (or in this case, a whole new fleet) to stir up the market. Will RELY become a household name? Hard to say just yet, but the signs are promising and, honestly, the UAE could do with a bit more choice in its commercial vehicle stable. Let’s watch this space—because if there’s one thing we know, it’s that nothing stands still for long here…

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