The Israeli auto market continues to show signs of severe weakness, as the Ministry of Licensing data revealed that the number of new vehicles delivered in February 2025 amounted to 24 thousand and 600 vehicles only, which represents a 6% decrease compared to the same month in 2024, which witnessed the intensification of the war.
According to a report published by the Israeli newspaper Globes, these numbers represent the lowest level of delivery for February 2020.
Despite this decline, the total delivery of new cars since the beginning of the year amounted to 71 thousand vehicles, which constitutes an increase of 1% compared to the same period last year, and this is due to the power of demand in January.
Hyundai dominates the market
Hyundai ranked first in the delivery of new vehicles of gasoline, hybrid and electric charging, with sales of 9,300 cars since the beginning of the year, taking advantage of the strong demand for KUNA and Entra.
Toyota ranked second with 7700 vehicles, recording a sharp increase by 38% compared to the same period last year. As for Kia, she was ranked third with the delivery of 6,500 vehicles, but it witnessed a 13%decrease, due to disturbances in the supply of some of the main models.
In the fourth place, Skoda, which achieved a 72% jump with the delivery of 6800 vehicles, while the Chinese company Sherry ranked fifth with 4 thousand vehicles, recording a huge increase by 140%.
The electric car sector witnessed a decline of 28% during the first two months of 2025, when only 11 thousand vehicles were delivered, which led to a decrease in its market share from 23% to 15%. This decrease is due to the entry of rechargeable hybrid models to the market, which has become a direct competitor to electric cars, in addition to a sharp rise in electric cars registration fees at the beginning of the year.
Chinese cars continue to dominate them
Chinese cars continued – according to Globes – to strengthen their share in the Israeli market, as 18,000 Chinese -made vehicles were delivered during the first two months of the year, an increase of 26% compared to the same period from 2024, which makes it represent 25% of the total sales.
Due to the market weakness and the intensity of competition, especially between Chinese brands, the marketing wars continue to be manufacturers, as this is evident in reducing prices and launching new models at reduced prices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arcn5jfgi4
As the Samelite company today reduced the price of the Chinese electric car Lepmotor T03 by 20 thousand shekels (5,600 dollars), to reach 90 thousand shekels (25,400 dollars), making it the cheapest electric car in Israel.
On the other hand, the new Tigo 7 Cross Over operates, which works with a rechargeable hybrid engine to compete with the Jaco 7 from Chery. The price of Tigo 7 was set at 180 thousand shekels (51 thousand dollars), or 9,000 shekels (2.500 dollars) than the price of its launch in the Israeli market.
Economic slowdown and war wakes the crisis
This crisis comes in the auto market in light of the sharp economic slowdown that Israel suffers from, which has exacerbated the war it launched against the Gaza Strip and the tensions that followed with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
These tensions led to the high financial deficit and the decline in consumer confidence, which directly affected the demand for new cars.
