Due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, the overwhelming port blast in Beirut, and the monetary unrest tormenting the nation, the number of newly registered cars in Lebanon dropped by 72.92 percent this year to November.

As indicated by the Association of Car Importers in Lebanon (AIA) there were 6,101 recently registered vehicles in Lebanon by November 2020, compared to 22,528 in the first eleven months of 2019.

Fitch Solutions said in a recent report that it is not optimistic about Lebanese new vehicle sales in the fourth quarter of 2020, with the explosion that destroyed the Port of Beirut and surrounding areas of the capital adding to existing downward pressures on the sector stemming from the global Covid-19 outbreak.

In details, the breakdown of the AIA’s statistics revealed that the number of newly registered “passenger” cars dropped by 60.50% year-on-year (y-o-y) to settle at 2,344 cars. In turn, the number of new registered “commercial” vehicles contracted by a yearly 61.40% to 149 cars.

For passenger vehicle sales, Fitch Solutions maintains its view that very weak consumer confidence will weigh on appetite for spending on “big-ticket” items, such as a new car, over the coming months.

Adding to the downward pressure on car sales, it is clear that Lebanon's tourism sector will suffer a very severe downturn in 2020, which will significantly reduce demand for new vehicles from the hospitality and car rental sectors.

For commercial vehicle sales, Fitch believes that a dire outlook for exports, combined with sluggish investment activity, indicates greatly reduced demand for commercial vehicles from Lebanese businesses over the coming period.  The only area of slight support for commercial vehicle sales may be from the construction sector, where large numbers of vehicles will be required to help rebuild vast areas of Beirut damaged in the August explosion.