Figures released by the Association of Automobile Importers in Lebanon show that dealers sold 33,012 new passenger cars in 2018, constituting a decline of 11.4% from 37,222 cars sold in the same period of 2017. Individuals and institutional clients purchased 2,489 new cars in January, 2,256 new vehicles in February, 2,900 automobiles in March, 2,539 new cars in April, 2,862 vehicles in May, 4,162 new automobiles in June, 3,665 new cars in July, 2,772 vehicles in August, 2,436 new cars in September, 2,509 vehicles in October, 2,195 new automobiles in November, and 2,227 cars in December 2018.

Japanese cars accounted for 40.7% of total car sales in 2018, followed by Korean vehicles with a 28.3% share, European automobiles (19.5%), American cars (8.6%) and Chinese vehicles (2.9%). The sales of new Chinese vehicles surged by 1.9 times year-on-year last year. In contrast, demand for Korean vehicles dropped by 25.8%, the sales of European automobiles decreased by 13.5%, the number of American cars sold declined by 4.2% and demand for Japanese automobiles regressed by 2.1% year-on-year in 2018.

Kia is the leading brand in the Lebanese market with 5,012 passenger vehicles sold in 2018, followed by Hyundai with 4,319 new cars sold, Toyota (4,155), Nissan (3,995) and Chevrolet (1,676). In parallel, car dealers sold 2,289 new commercial vehicles last year, down by 13.3% from 2,641 commercial vehicles purchased in 2017. Overall, car dealers sold 35,301 new passenger cars and commercial vehicles in 2018, down by 11.4% from 39,863 cars sold a year earlier.