Israeli vehicles market in August 2024 reported 22,785 sales, posting a 7.7% loss after recovering from an 8 months negative string. YTD figures at 202,820 were down 8.2% compared to the prior year.
Market Trend and Outlook
Israel’s economy is projected to grow by 1.9% in 2024, recovering to 4.6% in 2025 despite the severe impact of the October 2023 terrorist attacks and subsequent war. The economy is being driven by strong private and government consumption, although investment, particularly in construction, is expected to recover only partially from the sharp decline in late 2023. Inflation is forecasted to remain at 2.5% in 2024-2025, with disinflation allowing for gradual interest rate cuts. Fiscal and monetary policies are adapting to the increased sovereign risk and higher military expenditures, with prudent management necessary to maintain stability. Risks remain high, especially if the conflict escalates or labor shortages persist.
Despite the overall positive economic outlook, the Israeli vehicle market in August 2024 fell after growing for 2 months in a row and recovering from an 8 months negative string. Monthly sales reported 22,786 new registrations (-7.7%). YTD figures at 202,820 were down 8.2% compared to the prior year.
Looking at cumulative data up to August brand-wise, the leader became Toyota -up 2 spots- at 23,408 sales (+0.1%), in front of Hyundai -down 1 spot- at 21,288 sales (-41.6%) and Kia -down 1 spot- at 20,110 registrations (-24.8%).
Skoda jumped 2 spots into 4th with 14,056 sales (+20.5%), followed by BYD with 12,257 new registrations (+1.1%), Mazda -down 2 spots- at 10,067 (-17.1%) and MG -up 9 spots- in 7th with 9,865 units sold (+158.7%).
Mitsubishi ranked into 8th with 8,767 sales (+3.4%), followed by Chery -down 2 spots- at 7,560 sales (-22.9%) and Seat -up 4 spots- with 7,226 registrations (+53.5%).
Medium-Term Market Trend
The Israeli vehicles market in the past decade has had two main trends. From 2013 to 2016 the market grew year-by-year starting at 208,614 in 2013 and ending at an all-time high of 281,736 light vehicle sales. In the following year the market reversed, falling for 4 years in a row and reaching 246,311 sales by the end of 2019.
With the arrival of the pandemic in 2020 the light vehicle market collapsed even further, reaching 211,322 new car registrations by the end of the year (-14.2%).
Luckily the market boomed in the following year, with 2021 reaching a new all-time high at 284,432 sales , a +34.6% year-on-year variation. The following year the market underperformed, with sales in 2022 reaching 268,141 (-7.3%). A combination of factors are behind the current industry struggle: the disruption in the global supply chain caused by a lack of raw materials, in particular for the production of microchips and Governments push towards Evs, an expensive alternative for low income consumers.
This conflict heavily effected the Israeli Vehicle Market, which totaled 268,878 new sales in 2023 and grew a mere 0.3%
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for 10 Brands and top 10 Manufacturers Groups.
