Kuwaiti Vehicles Market in 2025 expands steadily. YTD figures up to September gained 10.6%, with Toyota staying on top and growing 16.4%. Mitsubishi and Jetour posted the strongest gains, outpacing other top 10 brands.
Economic Environment
In 2025, Kuwait’s real GDP is projected to grow by 2.6%, recovering from a 2.8% contraction in 2024 as OPEC+ oil production cuts ease and non-oil sectors rebound. Inflation is expected to remain steady at 2.6%, aided by lower food prices and reduced demand pressures. Non-oil GDP is also set to grow by 2.6%, supported by renewed domestic demand, credit growth, and large-scale development projects, including the economic boost from hosting the Gulf Cup. Despite this momentum, Kuwait faces fiscal pressures, with the 2025–2026 budget projecting a deficit of KWD6.3 billion, largely due to high wage and subsidy costs that constrain capital spending. To improve fiscal sustainability, the government has introduced new tax measures, including a 15% Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax on multinationals and proposed selective taxes on harmful goods.
Fitch Ratings reaffirmed Kuwait’s ‘AA-’ credit rating, noting its exceptionally high sovereign net foreign assets, forecast to reach 601% of GDP in 2025. Meanwhile, efforts to diversify the economy and attract FDI are gaining traction, with KDIPA approving over KWD1.75 billion in investments across strategic service sectors. Kuwait is also enhancing its global competitiveness through incentives in tech, renewables, and cloud services, offering foreign equity up to 100% and rapid setup support.
Automotive Industry Trend and Outlook
After an impressive surge in the first months of 2025, Kuwait’s vehicle market is stabilizing. YTD sales up to September 2025 surged 10.6% in year-on-year volume, with a constant trend throughout Q2.
Brand-wise, Toyota was still the leader, reporting a 16.4% gain and a 28.5% share. Nissan followed in 2nd, up 21.3%. Mitsubishi rose 2 spots to secure 3rd with a 31.5% growth year-on-year volume.
Outside of the Top 5, Jetour climbed 6 spots in 7th and reported the most impressive growth, up 78.4%.
Looking at specific models the Toyota Land Cruiser was still the best seller, gaining 61.3% in year-on-year volume, followed by the Nissan Patrol, up 25.6% and 2 spots.
EV Market Trend and Outlook
Kuwait’s EV sector is exploding, growing 69.6% up to September 2025. EV adoption is rising thanks to increased policy support as part of Vision 40 electrification targest. Still, the share remains limited, showing that there are still structural hurdles.
Hyundai led the market, up 2 spots and 387.2%. Toyota fell 1 spot into 2nd despite still gaining 19.7% while Lexus closed the podium, up 5 spots and 316.7%.
Medium-Term Market Trend
Kuwait’s domestic car market experienced a golden era over a decade ago, driven by robust economic growth, high oil prices, and substantial worker immigration. These factors propelled the market to its all-time high in 2014, with 159,828 units sold. However, the subsequent decline in international oil prices led to economic challenges, prompting the government to reduce public spending and increase taxes. Consequently, the car market faced a downturn, declining for three consecutive years and reaching 104,230 units in 2017. A modest recovery in 2018 and 2019 was abruptly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused sales to plummet to a 15-year low of 87,183 units in 2020.
Since early 2021, the market has been on a recovery path, supported by economic stabilization, increased consumer confidence, and the introduction of competitive financing options. The Kuwaiti vehicle market grew by 22.1% in 2022 and 12.8% in 2023, culminating in 140,415 units sold in 2024, approaching the levels seen in 2014.
Despite this recovery, electric vehicle adoption in Kuwait remains minimal. As of the end of 2024, only 781 EVs were registered, accounting for just 0.03% of the country’s total vehicle population of 2.5 million. This low adoption rate is attributed to several factors, including the lack of fast-charging infrastructure, the higher upfront cost of EVS and the absence of government incentives, as well as concerns about battery performance due to Kuwait’s extreme heat.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for the top 10 models.
