Qatari Vehicle Market still struggled in 2019, signing the 5th consecutive year of decline and falling below the 50.000 units, the half of the all-time record established in the 2014. Toyota held around one-third of the market, while MG boomed, landing in 13th position.
Economic Environment
Qatari economy likely picked up in the second half of last year. Industrial output strengthened in the third quarter, while the non-oil sector PMI recovered in the fourth quarter. Moreover, year-on-year credit and visitor arrivals growth was strong in October–November, boding well for private consumption. That said, merchandise exports remained depressed up to November, partly due to lower energy exports.
This follows Q2’s contraction in economic output as a dip in the non-mining and quarrying sector weighed on the headline figure. In other news, the government announced in December that the 2020 budget will amount to roughly USD 58 billion, a 1.9% increase from 2019, with major spending penciled in for World Cup 2022 preparations. The budget surplus is expected to shrink slightly.
Market Trend
Qatar Vehicles Market in recent years is declining. Following the all-time record established in the 2014, when sales hit the 100.000 units, the fall of oil price in the international market and the consequent restrictive economic policy, hit the consumer demand starting a negative period not yet ended. Sales fell down for three consecutive years losing the half of 2014 volume and landing at 54.280 units in the 2017, losing a huge 25.6%.
In the 2018 the market fell down again. Indeed, the year has signed the fourth negative annual score in a row, ending with sales down 6.3%. Moreover, the market has closed with registrations at 50.757, almost half of the 2014 all time record.
While the negative economic environment moved the Government to postponed the VAT introduction already agreed with the G.C.C. partnership, in 2019 the market was again negative, ending the year at 49.861 registrations, down 1.8%.
Looking at the competitive landscape, the market leader Toyota improved by 4.3% consolidating the market share at almost one-third of the market.
The first competitors were Nissan and Kia losing respectively 10.3% and 6.9%. German brands have performed well with Volkswagen and Mercedes gaining, but the star of the year was the recently landed Chinese MG, which boosted sales by 157%, ending the year in 13th position.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for Top Brands
