In a market where the top two brands, Hyundai and Kia, control together over 70% of the market share and the top 10 best-selling models ranking is almost entirely held by the two Koreans.

Up to October 2023, the new best seller is a sedan, the very popular Hyundai Grandeur, which moves up  3 spots into leadership with 96,672 sales (+77.8%).

In second place previous year’s leader the Hyundai Porter with 82,367 sales (+8.2%) followed by the  Kia Sorento -down 1 spots- with 68,379 sales (+24.7%).

The Kia Carnival rises 2 spots into 4th with 58,695 sales (+32.9%) followed by the Kia Sportage with 58,028 new registrations (+33.6%), the Hyundai Avante with 54,394 units sold (+21.4%) and the Kia Bongo with 53,249 sales (-2.8%).

In 8th ranks the Kia Seltos -up 6 spots- with 42,633 new registrations (+21.3%) ahead of the Kia Ray with 42,089 units sold (+16.4%) and the Genesis G80 closing the top 10 with 38,084 sales (+0.0%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for Top 50 models.

Slovakia Auto Sales in October 2023 grows for the 12th month in a row, posting 7,804 new car sales (+3.7%). YTD figures at 75,606 are up 15.2% from the previous year. 

Market Trend and Outlook

The Slovak economy is highly dependent on its industrial and automotive sectors, and is set for a moderate recovery in 2024 as external demand recovers.

Slovakian auto market  in October 2023 grows for the 12th month in a row, posting 7,804 new car sales (+3.7%). YTD figures at 75,606 are up 15.2% from the previous year.

Looking at cumulative data up to October 2023 brand-wise, Skoda maintains leadership with 14,899 sales (+30.7%), followed by Toyota at 8,900 (+32.3%) and Kia at 8,074 registrations (+8.1%).

Hyundai falls 2 spots  into 4th with 7,759 sales (-0.5%), in front of Volkswagen at 5,488 (-5.9%), Dacia at 3,341 (+8.2%) and Peugeot with 3,092 (+9.3%).

Mercedes maintains 8th position with 2,771 sales (+31.4%), followed by BMW at 2,311 (+24.0%) and Suzuki in 10th with 1,999 sales (+58.7%).

Looking at specific models the Skoda Octavia so far sold the most cars (+69.8%), followed by the Kia Cee’d up 6.9% in year-on-year sales.

Medium-Term Market Trend

In recent years the Slovakian car market has had many ups and downs. At the start of the decade demand for car passengers fluctuated between 71k and 75k. Then in 2014 started a 6 year uptrend that would lead total car sales up to the current all-time high in 2019 at 109,978.

In 2020 the pandemic caused many markets Europe to collapse and the Slovakian one was no different, falling 25.4% back down to 82,014 sales.

The following year demand bounced back, inverting the trend and bringing sales to 84,084 (+2.5%). Despite 2022 rising another 4.2%, these past two years haven’t been enough to offset the major fall in 2020. A combination of factors are behind the current industry struggle: the disruption in the global supply chain caused by a lack of raw materials, in particular for the production of microchips and Governments push towards Evs, an expensive alternative for low income consumers.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and 10 Models.

Market Trend and Outlook

The Kuwaiti Vehicles Market in September 2023 grows for the 8th month of the year, with 10,125 new registrations (+1.1%). YTD figures at 94,652 are up 10.7% from the previous year.

Looking at cumulative data up to September 2023 brand-wise, the leader Toyota at 30,713 sales is back above 32% market share and reports a 3.4% growth in registrations from the prior year. Nissan lags far behind in second, rising 1 spot with 7,157 sales (+50.6%).

Chevrolet falls 1 spot into 3rd with 6,690 new registrations and a 1.1% loss year-on-year volume.

Looking at specific models the Toyota Land Cruiser becomes the new best seller rising 1 spot and 79.7% in year-on-year volume, followed by the Toyota Camry up 28.8%.

Medium-Term Market Trend

The development of the domestic car market in Kuwait had a gold era over a decade ago, when the strong economic growth, high oil price and high workers immigration pushed the market up for years until reaching the 2014 all-time record with 162,719.

Then, the economy started struggling for the fall of oil price in the international market and the public spending was cut while taxes increases. The car market start struggling and declined for 3 consecutive years. When in 2018 and 2019 a shy recovery was in place, the arrival of pandemic pushed sales down at the last 15 years record-low of 88.000.

However, since early 2021 the economic recovery sustained consumers demand and the market is recovering.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for top 10 Brands and top 10 models.

Slovakia Auto Sales in 2022 total 78,841, a 4.2% increase compared to the prior year. In December the market grew for the 3rd month in a row, reports 6,449 registrations.

Market Trend and Outlook

Slovakian Auto Sales in 2022 total 78,841, a 4.2% increase compared to the prior year. In December the market grew for the 3rd month in a row, reporting 6,449 registrations (+17.0%).

Looking at cumulative data from 2022 brand-wise, the first 3 positions remain unchanged with Skoda in 1st at 13,850 sales (-9.8%), followed by Hyundai at 9,261 (+13.6%) and Kia at 8,931 registrations (+15.7%).

Toyota rises into 4th position with 8,283 sales (+15.7%), in front of Volkswagen at 6,890 (-2.3%), Dacia at 3,728 (+36.0%) and Peugeot with 3,359 (-15.1%).

Mercedes moves up into 8th position with 2,631 sales (+1.3%), followed by Opel at 2,255 (-6.1%) and BMW with 2,244 sales (-3.6%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and 10 Models.

Market Trend and Outlook

Following the sharp fall reported in 2020, (-22.6%) the light vehicles market re-gained momentum in 2021 rising 22% by the end of the year.

In 2022 the Kuwaiti Vehicles Market totals 119,855 sales, a 12.9% increase from the prior year. This is the highest level of sales in the last 7 years. The strong momentum is confirmed by December growing for the 9th month in a row, with 11,690 new registrations (+31.9%).

Looking at cumulative data from 2022 brand-wise, the leader Toyota at 40,817 sales is back above 34% market share and reports a 42.6% increase in registrations from the prior year. Chevrolet lags far behind in second with 8,970 sales grows 18.4% this year.

Nissan falls into 3rd position reporting 7,657 cumulative sales and a 32.7% loss from the previous year.

The rising star is the Chinese brand MG which gained 64.3% advancing into seven place with 4,645 sales.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for top 10 Brands and top 10 models.

In a market where the top two brands, Hyundai and Kia, control together over 63% of the market share, the top 10 best-selling models ranking is entirely held by the two Koreans.

In 2022, the best seller is a light vehicle, the very popular Hyundai Porter, which confirms the previous year leadership, with 92,411 sales (+0.2%) and a safe gap over the followers to win the full year race.

In second place the Kia Sorento, up 3 spots, with 68,902 sales (-1.5%) followed by the  Hyundai Grandeur with 67,030 sales (+9.2%), down 1 spot.

In fourth place rises the Kia Bongo, with 64,826 sales (+8.5%) followed by the Kia Carnival with 59,058 (-19.4%), the Hyundai Avante with 58,743 (-17.3%) and the Kia Sportage with 55,394 (+39.3%) which benefited from the last generation success.

In 8th place the Hyundai Palisade with 49,737 (-5.0%) ahead of the Hyundai Sonata with 48,308 sales and the Hyundai Casper, rising 27 spots into 10th with 48,002 sales (+344.2%).

Remarkable the success of other models, like the Kia  EV6 in 26th (+125.5%), the Genesis G90 in 28th  (+356.5%) and the new Ssangyong Torres in 29th.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for Top 50 models.

In a market where the top two brands, Hyundai and Kia, control together a dominating percentage of the market share, the top 10 best-selling models ranking is entirely held by the two Koreans except for the Genesis G80.

The best-seller in 2021 is the Hyundai Porter, with 92,218 units sold (5.4% share).

In second place, overtaken by the new leader, the Hyundai Grandeur with 5.2% market share and 89,084 units sold, ahead of the rising Kia Carnival, jumping 5 spots with 73,233 units sold (4.3% share).

In fourth position the Hyundai Avante -down 1 spot- with 71,031 units (4.1% share) followed by the Kia Sorento with 69,934 units (4.1% share) and the Hyundai Sonata with 63,109 units (3.7% share).

In seventh place the Kia Bongo with 59,729 units (3.5% share), ahead of the Kia K5 which ended up in eighth position -down 4 spots-, with 59,499 units (3.5% share).

The Genesis G80 rose 2 positions registering 59,463 units sold (3.5% share), followed by the Hyundai Palisade which fell 3 spots with 52,338 units sold (3.1% share).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for Top 50 models.

Market Trend

The Kuwaiti car market this year attempted to recovered effectively from the pandemic crash of 2020 and reported a very promising performance all year except for Q4..

Kuwait vehicles market hit an all-time record in 2014 with 162,719 sales ending a long positive path.

However, the sudden economic crisis generated by the fall of oil price hit the sector with sales declined for three consecutive years. In 2017, light vehicle sales have been 106,551.

In 2018, according to data reported by the Kuwaiti Authority for Transportation, the market has finally changed mood breaking the falling trend and scoring a positive second half which allowed to the end of the year with 107,534 sales, up a mere 0.9%.

In 2019 the market kept recovering with moderation. Indeed, Full-year registrations in 2019 have been 114,605, growing 6.6% from the previous year.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices sales fell in  2020. In fact, 88,930 units have been sold, reporting a decline of 22.4% compared to 2019.

In 2021 the year started positively for the Kuwait market, in fact, in Q1 27,579 units have been sold, reporting a 18.9% increase in sales compared to Q1 2020, while in Q2 sales accelerated, reporting a 160.7% increase in sales with 25,790 units sold due to the low levels reported in Q2 2020.

In Q3 sales grew just 8.7% with 28,124 units, while in Q4 sales fell 10.7% with 26,536 units.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2021 have been 108,029, reporting a 21.8% increase compared to 2020.

Brand-wise, this year the leader Toyota (+4.1%) lost 4.6% market share, followed by Nissan (+45.1%), which gained 1.7% share, and Chevrolet which lost 0.1% share, gaining 20.6%.  Mitsubishi reached 4th place and gained 32.5%, followed by Kia which gained 1.4%, reporting the worst performance on the leaderboard.

Ford gained 31.6%, followed by Honda (+23.9%) -up 1 spot- and Lexus (+1.9%). Closing the leaderboard we have Hyundai gaining 12.2% this year and MG registering the best performance (+47.5%).

The most sold vehicle this year remains the Toyota Land Cruiser (-6.6%) with 6,215 units sold, followed by the Nissan Sunny (+125.5%) registering 4,906 new sales this year. The Toyota Camry (-3.7%) closes the podium and reports 4,549 new units sold.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for top 10 Brands and top 10 models.

Slovakian Auto market in 2021 falls 0.8% with 75,699 sales, reporting positive performance only in Q2. The undiscussed leader Skoda loses 10% sales, followed by the best performer Hyundai (+21.6%).

Market Trend

The Slovakian car market this year attempted to recover from the pandemic crash of 2020 and but remained almost flat, reporting positive performance only in Q2.

The Slovakian car in recent years has been one of the most dynamic in Europe, as the country becomes a manufacturing hub for the entire continent, with the highest ratio of produced vehicles per person in the continent. The domestic new vehicle sales scored an impressive series of all-time records, starting from 2014.

Indeed, in the 2014-2018 period, the market grew up without break while the speed declined year after year, ending with a 2018 record of 98,079 sales, up a mere 2.1% from the previous year. In 2019 the market has marginally improved, signing the 6th consecutive year of growth. Indeed, the Full-year ended with registrations at 101,702, up 3.7% from the previous year.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic sales fell in  2020. In fact, 76,311 units have been sold, reporting a decline of 25% compared to 2019.

In 2021 the year started slightly negatively for the Slovakian market, in fact, in Q1 18,116 units have been sold, reporting a 4.5% decrease in sales compared to Q1 2020, while in Q2 sales started growing quickly, reporting a 35.1% increase in sales with 20,333 units due to the incredibly low volumes in Q2 2020.

In Q3 sales fell again by 6.1% with 20,270 units sold, followed by a steeper 18% fall in Q4 with 16,980 units.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2021 have been 75,699, reporting a 0.8% decrease compared to 2020.

Brand-wise, this year the leader Skoda (-10%) lost 2.1% market share, followed by Hyundai (+21.6%), which gained 2% share and reported the best performance on the leaderboard. Kia gained 1.7% share, rising 19.4%.  Volkswagen remained in 4th place (+13.7%), followed by Toyota which gained 11.3%.

Peugeot lost 17.4%, followed by Citroen -up 2 spots- which lost 8.6%, and Dacia which lost 25.6% sales, reporting the worst performance on the leaderboard. Closing the leaderboard we have Mercedes -up 2 spots- gaining 16.9% and Opel, gaining only 0.6%.

The most sold vehicle this year has been the Skoda Fabia (+8.9%) with 4,165 units sold, followed by the Hyundai i30, which rose 72.9% registering 3,479 new sales this year. The Skoda Octavia (-4.8%) closes the podium and reports 3,218 new units sold.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands and top 10 Manufacturers Group.

The present situation in North Africa

At the moment the entire region of North Africa is in a severe crisis. In fact, the spread of COVID-19 infections has accentuated the already fragile situation in the area.

Egypt is the only market in the region that has not been affected negatively, in fact, it is up over 10% this year. The reason for this unexpected growth is because at the moment the vehicles market in Egypt is experiencing extreme volatility caused by inflation, causing the sudden rise and fall of prices. At the moment the prices are significantly lower since the country is in a deflationary period and tourism -the most important business in the country- has been severely affected. This fall in prices incentivizes the purchase of new vehicles for the population, explaining this countertrend growth.

Morocco and Tunisia have both experienced a sharp fall this year (losing 37.6% and 22.7% respectively) because of the lack of tourism to sustain the economy. Nevertheless, both these countries were very promising markets, with Morocco reporting 3 all-time sales records in a row from 2016 to 2018 and Tunisia reporting 4 all-time records in a row from 2014 to 2017 before experiencing a severe economic crisis in 2018.

The situation in Algeria has been very peculiar because it used to be the second-largest vehicle market in Africa after South Africa, but since 2014 the government has chosen to ban the import of vehicles in the country to push manufacturers to build facilities in the country. Because of this decision, the prices for new cars skyrocketed fairly quickly and the market fell from an all-time record of 429.960 units sold in 2013 to 125.121 units sold in 2019, a reduction of 70.9% in sales. COVID-19 impacted a market that was already on its knees, and in fact, only 16.427 units have been sold Year to Date, registering the lowest numbers in 40 years.

An Outlook to the Future

We expect North Africa to be the region with the biggest growth in the world in the next 5 years compared to its performance in 2020. In fact, based on the projection to 2025 of all historical auto market data (by segment, brand, and model) with all internal factors and economic outlook, our research team expects the industry to be at over 678.000 units by 2025, with a 2020-2025 CAGR of 10.8%.

According to our forecast up to 2025, Renault will be the undiscussed leader in the region and will surpass 60.000 sales per year, followed in the distance by Volkswagen which will reach 32.000 sales per year. Peugeot will remain further behind, with almost 19.000 units sold per year expected in 2025.

Egypt is the only country in the area with a less positive projection up to 2025 as the same volatility in inflation that caused this spike in growth in such an uncertain period may as well cause a fall in sales in the next few years.

Morocco and Tunisia are will be able to recover swiftly as soon as the lack of tourism affecting the economy of the countries will start to disappear, and they will return to the growth rate that they have been experiencing the past few years and set new sales records.

The Algerian government has been discussing this summer about lifting the vehicles import ban that has crippled the market for the past 6 years. As soon as the ban will be lifted, the Algerian market will explode, and grow extremely rapidly, outperforming most of the countries in the area in terms of growth. Another important factor that influences its performance is oil prices, if they will rise in the next few years this could greatly benefit the market since Algeria is the 18th country in the world ranked by oil production and produced over 1.35 million barrels a day in 2019.

Another country that can’t do anything but grow is Libya, but these previsions of growth are difficult to quantify precisely as they are heavily influenced by the peace process, which has already been interrupted several times. This year, Libya has been producing over 1.2 million barrels of oil per day and used to be the 8th largest producer of oil. It could be the fastest-growing country in the world if peace is maintained, with an expected growth of 400-500%.

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