Car sales down

Sales dropped four percent yoy in the first half of 2011

July 27, 2011 - A total of 15,211 new passenger cars were sold in the first half of 2011, a 4.3 percent decrease from the 15,892 cars sold in the same period last year.

According to figures released by the Association of Automobile Importers in Lebanon, Korean cars accounted for around 43 percent of total car sales. Japanese cars acquired a 30 percent share of total sales, followed by European automobiles with 20 percent, American vehicles with around five percent, and Chinese cars with less than one percent of the sales.

Kia is the leading brand in the local market with 4,037 cars sold in the first half of 2011. Nissan is the second leading brand with 2,606 cars sold, followed by Hyundai with 2,467 cars, Toyota with 678, Chevrolet with 586 cars sold, Renault with 510, and Peugeot with 465 cars.

A total of 1,088 new commercial vehicles were sold in the first half of 2011, down 25.6 percent from the 1,463 vehicles sold in the same period last year.