Chinese Cars Increase Market Share in Israel in 2025#
Chinese vehicle brands have continued their steady rise in Israel’s automotive market, reaching a record 26.3% market share in the first four months of 2025, according to recent data from the Ministry of Transport Licensing Bureau.
Between January and April 2025, 30,693 Chinese-manufactured vehicles were delivered in Israel, representing a 24.4% increase compared to the same period last year. This growth comes at the expense of Korean manufacturers, whose market share has shrunk from over 33% to about 20%.
Overall Market Performance#
The total new vehicle deliveries in Israel for the first four months of 2025 reached 116,658 units, showing a 9% increase from the corresponding period in 2024, when the Gaza conflict was at its height. However, industry analysts note that approximately 14,000 of these vehicles were registered through “self-registration” by importers after not being sold within a year of production. When adjusting for this factor, actual deliveries to customers decreased by about 2%.
Electric Vehicle Segment Struggles#
The electric vehicle (EV) sector in Israel is experiencing a notable decline. Deliveries in the first four months of 2025 fell by 29% compared to the same period in 2024, with EVs now representing 16.4% of the market, down from 22% last year.
Chinese manufacturers still dominate the EV sector with over 65% market share, but established brands are facing challenges:
- BYD, last year’s market leader, fell to ninth place with a 47% decline in deliveries
- Geely dropped to 22nd place with a 52% decline
- Newer Chinese EV brands like Dongfeng, Leapmotor, Deepal, and Hongqi are struggling to gain traction despite significant marketing efforts
Chinese Brands Enter Gasoline Vehicle Market#
While facing challenges in the EV sector, Chinese manufacturers are making significant inroads into Israel’s traditional gasoline and hybrid vehicle market. Five of the top ten automotive brands in the first four months of 2025 were Chinese, with particularly strong performance from Chery Group:
- Jaecoo (Chery Group) jumped to sixth place with 5,041 deliveries
- Combined Chery brands delivered 11,472 vehicles, up 215% from the previous year
- This places Chery Group in third place overall, behind only Hyundai and Toyota
The Korean manufacturer Hyundai maintained its market leadership with 15,691 vehicles delivered (up 15%), while Toyota showed impressive recovery with 14,627 deliveries (up 36%) despite losing access to some strategic models due to export restrictions from Turkey.
Industry sources predict 2025 will be a difficult year for Israel’s automotive sector, with importers carrying heavy inventory and facing intense competition in a market with approximately 50 active car brands.
Update: What Happened Next (Through Q1 2026)#
The trend in this report did not just continue — it accelerated. By the first quarter of 2026, Chinese automakers accounted for the largest share of Israel’s imported passenger car sales, delivering 39,127 cars, ahead of South Korean automakers (17,828) and Japan (10,630). Chery Group — already in third place in this article’s data — overtook both Hyundai-Kia-Genesis and Toyota-Lexus to become the single best-selling car group in Israel. Brand-by-brand, Chery sat just behind Toyota and Hyundai with a 9.9% share, having climbed two spots. The “difficult year” the industry predicted turned out to be difficult mainly for the incumbents, not for the Chinese newcomers.
The EV slump described above also reversed: Chinese models made up roughly 82% of all electric car sales in Israel over January–November 2025, and BYD’s February 2026 registrations were up 76% year-on-year. The 2025 dip looks, in hindsight, like a pause for the wider EV market to absorb subsidy and tax changes rather than a rejection of Chinese vehicles.
Why This Matters for Our Readers#
For the Chinese community in Israel — and for Israelis who follow China closely — this is one of the most visible, everyday signs of the China–Israel economic relationship, far more present in ordinary life than headlines about ports or infrastructure tenders. A neighbour’s Atto 3, a Chery Tiggo in the office car park: these are now unremarkable, and that normalisation matters in a period when Chinese involvement in Israel is otherwise politically fraught (see https://asiansinisrael.com/2025/07/chinese-influence-israel-dilemma/).
A few practical notes for anyone weighing one of these cars:
- Importer stability is the real question. With ~50 brands fighting over a shrinking customer base, the risk is not the car — it is whether the importer will still be around in five years to honour the warranty and stock parts. Favour brands with an established local importer and a real service network over the newest arrival with the lowest sticker price.
- EV resale values are volatile. The 29% delivery drop in early 2025 fed straight into used-EV prices. If you buy new, expect steeper depreciation than for an equivalent hybrid; if you buy used, that same volatility can work in your favour.
- Hybrids, not just EVs. The Chinese push into petrol and hybrid models — not only pure EVs — means buyers who are not ready to go fully electric still have Chinese options. See our companion piece, https://asiansinisrael.com/2025/05/chinese-cars-israel-market-leader/, for the segment breakdown.
For the broader picture of how far Israel’s adoption of Chinese cars outpaces other developed economies, see https://asiansinisrael.com/2025/05/chinese-cars-israel-market-leader/. For Xiaomi’s planned entry, see https://asiansinisrael.com/2025/07/xiaomi-cars-israel-import/.
Read the full article on Globes.
