New car sales up turnover down

BMW and Volkswagen see higher sales

The number of new cars sold during the first three quarters of 2012 rose by seven percent compared to the same period of last year. According to the latest figures released by the Association of Automobile Importers (AIA), some 26,000 new cars were sold until the end of September.

The growth in the total number of sales does not reflect the true situation, according to the AIA. “The turnover of the sector has gone down,” said Samir Homsi, president of the AIA and chairman of Impex, exclusive dealer for Chevrolet, Cadillac, Hummer, and Isuzu. “Most of the units sold were small cars priced at between $11,000 and $15,000,” he said.

Around 45 percent of new cars sold were of Korean manufacture. Kia brand sold 7,000 units, up by 12 percent y-o-y. Hyundai sold 5,600, posting a 17 percent y-o-y rise.

Japanese-made cars accounted for 27 percent of sales. Nissan brand sold around 4,300 cars, almost unchanged from last year. Toyota sold around 1,300, up by 27 percent y-o-y.

European cars saw a slight rise in sales, to 5,300. Renault’s sales went up by 5.7 percent to 940 units. Volkswagen’s sales grew by 26 percent to 567 units. BMW followed with 520 units sold, up by 47 percent y-o-y.

Sales of Mercedes cars fell to 514, six percent down y-o-y. Peugeot car sales went down by 36 percent, to 450 units.