The Association of Car Importers in Lebanon (denoted as AIA) stated in its recent automotive report that “The continuous Downfall of New Cars Registered in Lebanon has started in 2016 to reach in 2021 a dramatic drop of 88% in comparison with the same period of 2015. This will lead to the closing down of a number of companies and is causing the licensing of a large number of their employees and workers”.
More generally, the market has been facing increasing challenges following the economic deterioration and worldwide pandemic. Furthermore, restrictions on banking procedures and the opening of Documentary Credits to import new cars and spare parts will continue to further affect car sales in the coming months. As a result, passenger cars dropped by 23.57% yearly to 4,702 by December 2021.
In details, during the month of December 2021, Passengers cars were distributed as follows: Japanese cars took the highest shares of 34.43%, European cars accounted for 27.48%, and Korean Cars came third measuring 23.25% of the total.
As we can see the cars sector in Lebanon is still suffering due to the devaluation of the national currency against the dollar followed by the severe drop in purchasing power and income of individuals.
For the month of December alone, number of sold cars recorded a total of 604 compared to 512 cars in December 2020. It is worth noting that the continuous downfall of new cars registered in Lebanon has started in 2016 to reach a dramatic drop of 88% in 2021 compared to 2015.
Growth of Registered Passengers Cars by December 2021
Source: AIA, Rymco, BlomInvest