According to the monthly statistics published by the Automobile Importers Association (AIA), new car sales in Lebanon stood at a meager one (1) vehicle during the month of February 2021, compared to 61 vehicles in January noting that they stood at 897 in February of last year. February’s shy sales figure is attributed to the total lockdown imposed by the government since January 14 to tame the COVID outbreak. The sharp annual drop in the sales of new cars is attributed to foreign currency liquidity squeeze in the banking sector which constrained buyers from withdrawing cash in foreign currencies to meet the new conditions set forth by vehicle dealers who require buyers to settle part of the price in fresh Dollar not to mention the rapid coronavirus outbreak and related lockdown. On a cumulative basis, new car sales fell by 96.70% y-o-y to 62 vehicles during the first two months of 2021, down from 1,876 vehicles during that same period last year. This can be explained by the 96.66% annual drop in the sales of Japanese cars to 19, coupled with some 98.20% contraction in the sales of Korean cars to 7 vehicles and some 95.62% decrease in the sales of European cars to 26 only to name a few. It is worth noting that the number of imported cars via the Beirut Port rose by 25.13% annually in January 2021. European cars controlled the lion’s share of new car sales in Lebanon, amassing alone 41.94% of total unit sales up to February 2021, followed by Japanese (30.65%), American (14.52%), Korean (11.29%), and Chinese (1.61%) cars.

The German “Mercedes” brand recorded total unit sales of 8 cars YTD February, enjoying the highest market share of 12.90%, followed closely by the American “Chevrolet” (7 cars <11.29%>) and Japanese “Nissan” (6 cars <9.68%>) brands, only to name a few.