According to the Association of Lebanese Car Importers, the number of newly registered commercial and passenger cars improved during the first quarter of 2016 by 6.72% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 8,590 cars. This was triggered by the 5.93% yearly increase in the number of newly registered passenger cars to 7,990 and the 18.58% rise in newly registered commercial vehicles to 600.
The global developments related to lower oil prices and depreciating currencies against the dollar, mostly the Japanese Yen and the Euro, led to a noticeable shift in car buyers’ demand in Lebanon in favor of the Japanese cars. As a result, Japanese cars were the most demanded cars in Lebanon in the first 3 months of 2016, grasping a 37.87% share of the total market. Also, Korean cars were second in the ranking with a market share of 33.54% in March 2016, while European cars maintained their third rank with a market share of 22.99%.
However and in terms of brands, Kia kept on holding the largest share of newly registered passenger cars (20.16%), followed by a 15.09% stake for Toyota. Nissan and Hyundai came next in the ranking, as Hyundai grasped 13.15% of newly registered passenger cars, while Nissan held 8.66%.
In terms of sales per importer, Natco acquired the biggest bulk with an 18.75% of the total, followed by BUMC (15.74%), Century Motors (12.48%) and Bassoul-Heneine (10.63%).
Breakdown of Passenger and Commercial Cars by March
Source: AIA