144,000 new vehicles were delivered in Israel in the first half of 2015, an all-time record, and up 6.2% in comparison with the corresponding period last year. 25,570 vehicles were delivered in June, 10% more than in June 2014.
A number of factors affected car deliveries in June, including large purchases by car rental companies in preparation for the summer tourist season, and aggressive bargain campaigns by some importers, led by Kia and Hyundai. These two units of South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group also completely dominated new vehicle sales in the first half of the year, taking first and second place in deliveries and an aggregate 26% market share.
Hyundai cars grabbed first place with 19,061 deliveries, representing a 4.4% increase compared with the corresponding period in 2014. Deliveries of Kia vehicles soared 28% to 17,821, putting it in second place. Kia's Sportage crossover vehicle was the best-selling model in Israel for the second straight month, and also the best-selling model in the quarter. Toyota was in third place with 16,119 deliveries, a 4% rise. Mazda deliveries totaled 10,625, up 4.6%, putting it in fourth, and Mitsubishi deliveries were in fifth place with 9,184 deliveries, a 29% jump.
The luxury car market also hit a peak last month. A new Mercedes-Maybach S600 model with a NIS 1.8 million price tag was delivered to a businessman. Mercedes delivered 20 more S-class cars at prices around NIS 1 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 2, 2015
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