Lebanon vehicles market in 2015 fell 25% following the incredible performance scored in the previous year. The market is mirroring the country difficulties, two years without a President, and weak internal consumption.
Economic Outlook
The majority of the problems that Lebanon experienced last year, such as political deadlock and poor economic fundamentals, are expected to carry over to this year, thus dragging on growth. The country has been without a president for almost two years.
Moreover, politicians have failed to take basic decisions such as how to manage the garbage disposal crisis, which has left rubbish to accumulate on the streets of Beirut for months. Recent economic data show that the economy remains weak at the outset of the new year.
In January, the PMI pointed to deteriorating business activity. The index has been in contraction territory for over two years, highlighting the impact that political uncertainty and subdued domestic demand is having on business performance.
Market Outlook
Following the spectacular jump registered in the 2014 when the market boomed over 50.000 units, the highest figure ever, in the 2015 domestic market fell down at a more logic sales level, losing 25% while hitting the second best level in the history.
Indeed, according to data released by the Lebanon Association of Car Manufacturers (A.I.A.), the total sales light vehicles sales were 39.361 (-25.6%) with 12 months all year on year down.
Kia was the market leader with 19.1% of market share and 7.525 sales (-15.2%) followed by Toyota with 6.271 (+21.4%) and Hyundai with 5.964 (-41.4%).
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for Top Brands
