Dubai, UAE, 7 Jan 2025 — To thank its more than 40 million customers around the world who have made Changan Automobile their preferred mobility choice, the company today held the 9th Fan Festival in the city where it was founded, Chongqing, China. For the event, Changan invited its users from around the world, including those from the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, to come together to share their passion for the carmaker and learn more about Changan’s plans to continue transforming itself into an intelligent, low-carbon mobility tech company that meet people’s needs for a better life.

The MEA region, where it now serves more than 400,000 users, is a key focus of the company’s global brand strategy. Since it first entered this market in 1994, Changan has become a trusted partner of the people in the region. Working with over 50 partners, it has built a network of more than 100 stores in the MEA, including the largest ever Changan store outside China, which opened in Iraq in 2024. Thanks to the support of its partners and teams in the region, it has leveraged this strength to become one of the top selling Chinese auto brands in the MEA market.

Innovations that Meet Diverse Customer Needs

With its three brands, Changan, DEEPAL and AVATR, the user centric Changan Automobile is continuing to leverage its advanced R&D capabilities and 40 years of technological innovations to develop and introduce more new models featuring its trend-setting designs and advanced technologies to meet the diverse needs of customers across the Middle East. Changan brings users high quality fashion and practicality with models like the new Changan UNI-S and UNI-V 2.0T. DEEPAL is an innovative digital new energy brand for young tech lovers, while AVATR is a high-end emotional intelligent brand that offers industry-leading capabilities in smart driving and digital experiences.
The company plans to introduce 10 new vehicle models, including the UNI-S and UNI-V 2.0T, alongside future products from DEEPAL and AVATR brands. Changan is committed to offering vehicles that meet users’ demands across various scenarios with advanced electric powertrains and battery systems. Every model is tested under extreme conditions (heat, cold, humidity, altitude) to ensure that customers in the region can enjoy high-quality, reliable vehicles. Changan is also bringing smart cloud services to MEA customers to provide them with a more intelligent, comfortable, and connected user experience.

User-centric Localization and Customer Service Commitment

As part of its commitment to bringing high-quality and trusted products to users in the region, Changan is deepening its localization efforts and will establish a regional headquarters in the Middle East. This will better enable it to explore new opportunities for joint ventures, financial services, and logistics to better serve customers. It is also enhancing its service network for customers in the Middle East by preparing to establish regional subsidiaries and exploring a “dual-engine” strategy of integrated operations and regional dealerships.
Since launching its “Project No. 1” the “Customer Service Project” in 2020, Changan has listened closely to the valuable feedback from local customers and strives to fulfill its service commitments by continually upgrading the skills of its local service talent. To better serve customers and elevate the quality of aftersales service in the region, it hosted the first skills competition in the Middle East and Africa last month.
Customer service is a top priority for Changan. It launched the “withU” customer care program globally to further elevate the customer service experience. The withU program aims to reduce customer response time by 50% through the establishment of spare parts centers and technical support centers. The withU program is already being rolled out in the MEA region and Changan is developing a professional local maintenance team to provide a seamless customer service experience throughout the vehicle lifecycle. Changan has also established a regional parts warehouse center, underscoring its commitment to deepening localization and enhancing customer care.

Changan Automobile looks forward to building even closer ties with its users and partners in the MEA region and working together to promote intelligent, low-carbon mobility and fulfill its mission to “lead auto culture and benefit human life”.

 Global biopharmaceutical company Takeda recently hosted an event “Innovation and Hope: Connecting Minds to Transform HAE Patient Care” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This pivotal gathering brought together leading healthcare professionals to discuss innovative therapies and collaborative strategies for managing Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) in the Middle East.
Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) is a rare genetic disorder affecting approximately 1 in 50,000 individuals worldwide. It is characterized by recurrent episodes of swelling in various parts of the body, including the face, neck, and throat. Symptoms can be unpredictable and may occur at any age and swelling of the upper airways can be particularly dangerous and may lead to fatal asphyxiation. HAE attacks can last up to 5 days and may spread to another location before resolving, and can be triggered by factors such as stress, injuries, hormonal changes and dental procedures. Symptoms typically worsen over the first 24 hours and subside over the next 48–72 hours. These unpredictable symptoms can lead to severe complications, making timely diagnosis and treatment crucial.
To address the gaps in HAE diagnosis and treatment in the region, this event showcased leading HAE healthcare experts from the region through a series of plenary sessions and panel discussions. These sessions raised awareness of both the clinical and societal dimensions of HAE care. It primarily focused on the nuances of local healthcare systems, diagnosis and treatment protocols, while also presenting the latest real-world case studies, clinical findings, and research to improve the lives of HAE patients.
“HAE has a significant impact on patients’ quality of life, affecting their emotional well-being, education, careers, and family dynamics,” said Dr. Khaled Sary, General Manager, Takeda West Gulf Cluster. “Our event highlighted our commitment to advancing HAE patient care through innovative therapies and comprehensive support systems. By bringing together healthcare professionals, we aimed to raise awareness of HAE and tackle the diagnostic and treatment challenges in the Kingdom. We hope this event fosters a regional consensus that guides future efforts and helps bridge existing gaps in HAE care.”
Commenting on the event, Dr. Rand Arnaout, Consultant and Section Head of Allergy and Immunology at the Department of Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre-Riyadh, said, “Hereditary Angioedema is an inherited, potentially fatal disease often misdiagnosed, which delays appropriate treatment and significantly impacts patients’ quality of life. This event hosted in Riyadh, KSA has been quite valuable in fostering collaboration among healthcare professionals

across the region to address the diagnosis and treatment challenges. By sharing the latest research and treatment options, we are taking critical steps toward improving patient care and ensuring that HAE patients are diagnosed early and receive the timely, effective treatment they deserve.”
Takeda is dedicated to enhancing access to HAE treatments across the Middle East by fostering regional collaborations and implementing tailored patient care approaches. The emphasis will remain on both short-term and long-term strategies to ensure sustainable improvements in HAE management, ultimately benefiting patients and their families in the region.

Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) has announced its investment in Global Ventures III, an early-stage venture capital fund managed by Global Ventures. The fund size is in excess of $150 million.
The fund will target investing in tech and tech-enabled sectors across Saudi Arabia, MENA, and Sub-Sahara Africa, focusing primarily on Supply Chain Tech, Agritech, Enterprise SaaS, and emerging technologies, including AI and Deep-tech.
Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC said: “Our investment in the venture capital fund by Global Ventures is part of SVC’s Investment in Funds Program, in alignment with our strategy to catalyze venture investments by fund managers investing in Saudi-based startups, especially during their early stages.”
Noor Sweid, Founder and Managing Partner at Global Ventures, added: “We are proud of our deep and continued partnership with SVC, and the investment underscores our continued deep commitment to enabling and building the Saudi Arabian VC and startup ecosystem. The market opportunity continues to be immense, with emerging technologies across platforms being built by exceptional founders continuing to shine through.”
SVC is an investment company established in 2018. It is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, part of the National Development Fund. SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO through investment in funds and direct investment in startups and SMEs.