Signs of an economic slowdown may be appearing all over, but they have not affected new car sales. In fact, Israelis are buying new vehicles at an ever growing pace. New car sales jumped 40% in the first quarter of 2008 to 61,100. March was a particularly good month with 21,553 new vehicles sold. This is a 57% rise over March of 2007.
There are a few reasons for the amazing growth in car sales: The use of the model year was removed from car licenses, rental companies bought new cars in preparation for a larger number of tourists starting with the Passover holidays, and the shekel's rise against the dollar and other currencies helped importers to increase the discounts they give to both private customers and leasing companies.
Lower vehicle taxes, which took effect this January, also encouraged purchases of new cars.
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The cancellation of the use of the model year for vehicles has made it not worthwhile for importers to hold large inventories of new vehicles, as their value depreciates quickly. Therefore, they are trying very hard to clean out their stocks - before their value drops.
In addition, car industry sources say they were unprepared last year for demand, and many orders were held up for months. This year, the importers have learned their lesson, and this has allowed them to sell many more cars.
The leading seller, once again, is Mazda. Its sales jumped 75% in the first three months of 2008 compared to the same period of last year, and Mazda delivered 11,224 vehicles in the first quarter. Hyundai was in second place with 6,288 cars sold, a 50% increase in the first quarter of the year.
Number three Toyota made due with a relatively small 8% gain in sales, but still delivered 6,129 cars in the first three months of the year.
Fifth-place Honda showed particularly impressive gains in sales, up 86% to 4,565 cars.
Mitsubishi increased their sales by 140% with 2,860 cars sold. Citroen, which sold only 2,753 vehicles saw a 105% rise.
KIA, which switched its Israeli importer in January, showed the biggest gains - percentage-wise. They sold 597 cars, a 247% jump.
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