Chinese cars gain EV sales crown in Israel in Jan-April

JERUSALEM, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese models dominated electric car sales in Israel during the first four months of 2023, shows data released by the Israel Vehicle Importers Association on Tuesday.

The statistics showed that 66 percent of electric passenger cars sold in Israel in January-April were made by Chinese manufacturers, or 13,235 out of 19,982 cars.

China's leading electric car maker BYD ranked Israel's top-selling electric cars brand in the period by selling 7,229 electric cars, mainly the subcompact crossover SUV Atto 3.

BYD was also the fifth best-selling brand among all types of vehicles sold in Israel in January-April, according to the association.

China's automaker Geely Auto Group, which sold 3,639 compact crossover Geometry Cs, and South Korea's biggest automaker Hyundai Motor, with 2,012 electric cars sold in the first four months, took second and third place.

Israeli customers buy for high-tech features of Chinese models, which are front-runners in the price range of 50,000 U.S. dollars, Tomer Hadar, an automotive editor for Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist, told Xinhua.