After a rocky start to the year—with car deliveries down 17% in the first quarter and 11% by mid-year—the Israeli auto market has almost fully rebounded. By the end of November, the delivery gap compared to 2023 had shrunk to just 2%. This recovery comes despite last year’s slowdown in October and November due to the outbreak of war, demonstrating the market’s resilience.
Since January, 259,000 new cars have hit the roads in Israel, excluding trucks, buses, two-wheelers and vehicles imported privately or through parallel channels. November alone saw 18,000 new cars delivered—a staggering 40% increase compared to the same month last year.
Winners and losers: The market shake-up
While the total number of deliveries remains similar to last year, the landscape of brands has shifted dramatically. Nearly 9,000 cars were delivered by brands that, until recently, were either new to Israel or entirely unknown. Leading the charge are Xpeng with 3,600 deliveries, Zeekr with 2,500, JAC with 1,300, Smart with 1,000 and Forthing with 400.
Established brands also saw some exciting gains. Skoda deliveries surged by 33%, Seat by 55%, MG by 25%, Nissan by 35% and Lexus by a remarkable 49%. However, not all brands shared in the success. Hyundai struggled with a 32% drop, Kia fell by 22%, Citroën by 24%, Geely by 39% and Peugeot by a sharp 46%.
Electric cars: Powering the future
Electric vehicles (EVs) are taking the Israeli market by storm, now accounting for 24% of all new cars. That’s one out of every four cars on the road! Just five brands—BYD, Tesla, MG, Chery and Geely—dominate this segment, making up 60% of all EV sales in the country.
A particularly eye-opening stat? A whopping 71% of all EVs sold in Israel—approximately 44,000 units—come from Chinese brands. In contrast, all European brands combined delivered fewer than 5,000 electric cars. Among the European players, Mercedes leads the pack with just under 1,000 EVs sold.
The market still feels familiar
Despite the influx of new brands and booming EV sales, Israel’s car market remains highly concentrated. The top three importers—Colmobil, Union Motors and Champion Motors—account for 48% of all deliveries, a slight dip from last year’s 49%. Champion’s figure also includes an additional 6% from Shlomo Motors, the importer of BYD, in which Champion owns a 50% stake. Combined, the seven largest importers control 82% of the market—the same figure as last year.
Even among the major players, the balance of power has shifted slightly. Colmobil, despite maintaining its market leadership, lost a significant portion of its share. Telecar and Lubinski also saw declines, while Union Motors, Champion Motors and Frisbee enjoyed gains.
What we think: Change and continuity
At first glance, Israel’s auto market seems to be undergoing dramatic change, with new brands entering the scene and EV sales skyrocketing. But a closer look reveals a more familiar picture. The overall number of deliveries has remained steady despite the war and shipping challenges, and the long-standing dominance of major importers remains intact.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
For example, while Hyundai’s numbers declined, Colmobil made up for it with thousands of new deliveries from Smart and JAC. Similarly, as Kia deliveries fell, Telecar doubled its deliveries of Seres. Lubinski offset losses from Peugeot and Citroën with a surge in MG sales, while Frisbee compensated for Renault's decline with massive gains from Chery and Xpeng.
As the saying goes: “What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”