2010 is shaping up to be a banner year for Israel's vehicle industry, and many people in the industry believe that 2011 will be even better. Gil Agmon, the CEO of Mazda and Ford importer Delek Automotive Systems Ltd. (TASE: DLEA), believes that car sales in Israel will average 240,000 a year in 2011-15.
Agmon says, "New car sales at 3% of the population are the minimum in Western countries. Taking Israel's population growth into account, this is a realistic estimate."
Agmon also believes that one of the factors that will contribute to new car sales growth is the scrapping of old cars. "In the US more cars were scrapped than were sold this year. This is a natural and inevitable process."
Toyota importer Union Motors Ltd. estimates next year's growth rate at 2-5%, assuming similar background conditions. GM, Chevrolet and Saab importer UMI Ltd. and Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Mercedes Benz importer Colmobil Ltd. have similar estimates.
Industry sources estimate that December deliveries will be higher than expected, because buyers have brought forward purchase for some brands to avoid expected price hikes for Japanese cars in January. Leasing companies have already been notified that prices will go up 3-5%, although the final prices have not yet been published.
Motor vehicle deliveries have risen from 145,796 in 2006, to 148,808 in 2007, 191,121 in 2008, 194,226 in 2009 to an estimated 215,000 in 2010.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 13, 2010
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