Israel Tax Authority: 43% jump in car imports

A total of 16,500 new cars were delivered in January 2010 - 46% more than in January 2009. Mazda was the top seller, with 2,529 new cars
 
The Israel Tax Authority reported last week that 15,239 private cars were imported in January 2010, 43% more than the 10,665 cars imported in January 2009.
 
The Tax Authority noted that imports of commercial vehicles rose by 5.7% over the same period. Trend figures show that car imports have been rising steadily since March 2009.
 
The association of car importers reported, in a separate press release that the automotive sector seems to be recovering well from the recent economic crisis:
 
A total of 16,500 new cars were delivered in January 2010 - 46% more than in January 2009. Mazda was the top seller, with 2,529 new cars - 12.5% more than last January. Hyundai came in second place, with 2,437 new cars - a 63.5% increase.
 
Toyota was in third, despite its crisis in Europe and the United States - 2,124 new Toyotas hit the road, a 279% increase compared with last January's figure.
 
Fewer Fords and Nissans were sold, with sales for these cars down 41.5% and 32.6% respectively. The top-selling luxury car was the Audi, with 227 new customers, followed by BMW 189 cars and Volvo.
 
The Tax Authority also noted that imports of most home appliances were also higher in January 2010 than in the corresponding month of 2009: imports of washing machines were up 28%, imports of dishwashers were up 2%, refrigerators were up 1%, and DVD players were up 1.6%. However, imports of clothes dryers fell 26%, and imports of TVs were down 5%.
 
In dollar terms, durable goods imports totaled $4 billion in January 2010, 20% more than in the corresponding month.