The BYD Atto 3 (left) is the best-selling car in the country, but the Chinese manufacturer's onslaught is just beginning (Photo: BYD)
On paper, the Israeli car market is in excellent shape: in the first five months of the year, 149,600 new cars hit the roads, a 10% jump and an all-time high.
But when you dive in, you find that the slowdown is already being felt in the showrooms. In May, 24,300 new cars were delivered, down 3.1% from the same month last year. A second month of declining deliveries followed a slightly larger decline of 5% in April.
A senior official in the auto market describes the situation: "We are currently living off demand that we could not satisfy last year because of the shortage of inventory. Customers, private and business, who have waited for months for their new car, and are only receiving it now. People are still buying new cars, but you have to work harder to sell to them. You can see this in the promotions that returned to the market and in the zero-kilometer sales that have resumed."
Best selling models
Rating | Model | Deliveries
1.BYD Atto 3 | 8,250
2.Mazda 2 | 4,500
3.Hyundai Elantra | 4,330
4.Kia Niro | 4,380
5.Geely Geometric C | 4,070
6.Cherry Tigo 8 | 4,010
7.Kia Picanto | 3,700
8.Hyundai Tucson | 3,560
9.Toyota Yaris Cross | 3,540
10.Hyundai i10 | About 3,330
data: Ministry of Transport
Hyundai has already delivered 2,600 electric cars this year, Toyota has already 500 (Photo: Walla! system, Keinan Cohen)
Demand for electric cars that jumped this year remains stable, and exhaust-free cars maintain a 16% market share: 24,8 fully electric cars have hit the roads since the beginning of the year, joined by 300,21 plug-in cars and 300,3 hybrids.
Of the ten best-selling cars there are two electric, the BYD Atto 8 which also continues to be the best-selling car in the country, with 250,4 units, the Geely Geometric C in fifth place (070,15), and one whose about 4% of deliveries are from the electric version, the Kia Niro (380,2). Tesla has delivered about 000,2 cars since the beginning of the year, and the dramatic reductions since the beginning of the year are not yet reflected in the numbers it presents. Hyundai delivered a cumulative 620,2 electrics.
Overall, BYD ranks fifth among car brands, after regular leaders Hyundai, Kia and Toyota, and after Mazda, which returned to the top this year, thanks in part to strong sales of the Mazda 4. It continues to maintain second place in the sales table by models, with 500,<> units sold since the beginning of the year. Toyota is showing a big drop in deliveries this year, largely due to the late arrival of the new Corolla this month.
Rank | Manufacturer | Dedication | Change since the beginning of the year
1.Hyundai | 18,413 | 6%-
2.Kia | 18,413 | 4%-
3.Toyota | 13,783 | Mazda 34%-
4.Mazda | 9,254 | 5%+
5.BYD Auto | 8,497 | -
6.Skoda | 7,376 | 20%+
7.Cherry | 7,165 | -
8.Mitsubishi | 5,713 | 15%-
9.Suzuki | 4,829 | 28%+
10.Peugeot | 4,635 | 20%+
Data: Automobile Importers Association
31% increase in SEAT deliveries (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
European automakers are beginning to recover from the chip crisis, and most are showing a solid increase in deliveries thanks to increased supplies. This is evident among others in the Volkswagen Group: Audi with a 10% increase to 1,921 narrows the gap with Mercedes (2,741, down 2%) that continues to lead the luxury market. Skoda rose 20% to 7,376 deliveries, and Seat recorded a 31% increase, to 3,123 units.
But 2023 is the year of Chinese manufacturers, with BYD and Cherry, which were not marketed here a year ago, ranking among the top ten best-selling brands. A total of 25,540 Chinese-made cars have been delivered in Israel since the beginning of the year, second only to South Korea (29,725).
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