Lebanon Vehicles Market in 2025 contracts sharply. Full-year sales in 2025 dropped 19%, with Audi dropping 85.7% out of the Top 10. Jetour defied the contraction, rising 171.9% in 7th.
Economic Environment
In 2025, Lebanon’s GDP is expected to grow by 3.5%, posting a downgrade from its earlier 4.7% projection and pointing to a modest but still positive expansion. This growth is framed as a continuation of a fragile rebound after multiple years of severe contraction. The Bank attributes the 2025 upturn mainly to stronger private consumption, supported by remittance inflows, alongside a tourism recovery. It also highlights exchange-rate stability since August 2023 as an important macro anchor underpinning confidence and spending. On prices, the World Bank expects inflation to slow to 15.2% in 2025, signaling disinflation compared with recent crisis peaks.
It further suggests inflation could fall to single digits in 2026, which would be the first time since 2019 that Lebanon returns to that range. The report contrasts this outlook with the IMF’s estimate of a 7.5% GDP contraction in 2024, underscoring how volatile Lebanon’s recent macro path has been. Despite some recent economic and judicial reforms improving the political and institutional backdrop, the Bank emphasizes that the rebound remains vulnerable. Major macro-critical structural reforms, notably legislation to resolve financial-sector losses and broader sector overhauls, are still pending, limiting the recovery’s durability. For 2026, the World Bank projects 4% growth, conditional on deeper reforms, some reconstruction-related inflows, and continued political stability.
Automotive Industry Trend and Outlook
Lebanon’s vehicle market contracted 19% overall in 2025. While the trend remained mostly negative throughout the whole year, losses became milder in Q3 and Q4 compared to early months.
Brand-wise, Toyota retained its leadership with a 37% share though it lost 22.7%, followed by Nissan, with 9.5% (-69.7%). Mitsubishi gained 17.4%, securing 3rd place. Kia -up 1 spot- ranked 4th with a 48.9% gain, while Lexus dropped 1 spot into 5th, falling by 28.8%.
Looking at the best selling models, the Toyota Hilux jumped 2 spots to become Lebanon’s best-selling vehicle, though it lost 7.4% in year-on-year volume. The Toyota Land Cruiser fell 50.1% and lost its leadership.
EV Market Trend and Outlook
The Lebanese EV Sector is slumping, largely affected by the broader automotive downturn. Down 27.8% in 2025, it reached a share of 4% on the total.
Toyota dominated EV sales, capturing 27.8% of the market, followed by Lexus which gained 15.1% into second place, positioning itself as a strong competitor.
Medium-Term Market Trend
The Lebanese vehicle market began its expansion in 2014 with 38,189 units sold, peaking at 52,239 units in 2017, a cumulative growth of 36.8%. However, economic challenges stemming from declining oil prices and the influx of Syrian refugees led to a downturn, with sales dropping to 34,258 units by 2019, marking a decade-low. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the decline, causing a sharp 62.3% fall in 2020 to just 12,719 units, one of the steepest global declines.
Recovery was sluggish; 2021 saw a modest 2.7% increase, and volumes remained at a 30-year low. A significant rebound occurred in 2022, with sales surging 80.8% to 23,610 units, though still below pre-pandemic figures. In 2023, growth stalled, reaching 25,468 units, and in 2024, the market saw a 25.05% increase to 8,226 units. This growth was driven by improved consumer sentiment following a ceasefire agreement in November 2024, normalization of business activities, and the introduction of affordable models from Chinese brands like GAC (Trumpchi) and Jetour. Nonetheless, the market remains constrained by limited financing options and reduced purchasing power, keeping sales below pre-2018 levels.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for the Top 10 Models
