Record Israel car imports in December 2020

A record 66,000 vehicles were imported into Israel last month, the highest ever monthly figure, as the car industry looks set to recover from the Covid-19 crisis. According to figures from Israel's customs and excise more than 55,000 of the vehicles were released to importers.

In the first 11 months of 2020, only 210,000 vehicles were delivered, down 15% from 2019 - the worst year for new car deliveries in almost a decade. December is usually a low-point for vehicles sales with importers and customers preferring their car to be registered in the new year. But in December 2020 importers were eager to beat the tax hikes at the start of 2021 with purchase tax on hybrid cars rising 45-50% and purchase tax on plug-in cars rising 25-30%.

The three most popular cars imported in December 2020 were the Toyota Corolla (12,290), the Hyundai Ioniq (9,882) and the Kia Picanto (8,036).