The Jerusalem Post ePaper

Chinese shake up local car market

WM Motors chief arrives in Israel ahead of January sale launch

• By DUBI BEN-GEDALYAHU

There were 256,700 new cars delivered in Israel in the first 11 months of 2022, down 9.8% from the corresponding period of 2021, but close to the average over the past decade.

Overall numbers aside, the past year has seen remarkable changes in the car market as the emphasis shifts from gasolineand diesel-fueled cars to electric vehicles. Nearly 10% of new cars sold in 2022 are electric vehicles compared with 1% three years ago; about 35% of the new cars sold in November were EVs. This percentage could rise further in December as buyers rush to bring in an electric vehicle before the purchase tax rises from 10% to 20% in January.

The shift to electric cars has also shaken up the mix of brands being sold in Israel, with Chinese companies moving strongly into the local market. In the first 11 months of 2022, there were 24,000 electric vehicles sold in Israel including 6,000 in November alone – and 64% of EVs sold in Israel this year were made in China. This figure includes Western brands that are manufactured in China such as Tesla and

Polestar (Volvo), although the Chinese see them as exports to the West.

Chinese carmaker Geely leads the way in overall 2022 EV car sales in Israel. Geely has sold 5,700 of its Geometry C EVs and has a 25% market share. Tesla is in second place, selling 4,000 Model 3 EVs, giving it a 17.5% market share. In third place is Chinese company BYD, which has sold 1,860 of its ATTO 3 EVs, despite only

launching in Israel two months ago.

Overall, eight new Chinese models have arrived in Israel this year, and this is just the start. At least two more brands – Dongfeng’s Voyah and Great Wall’s Wey – will be launched in Israel before the end of the year. In 2023, we can expect to see at least another five new models including Great Wall’s Ora, aggressively priced for the mass market, and Hozon’s

Neta, also for the mass market and perhaps also for the premium market. Geely’s Smart will be directed at the compact-premium market and its Zeekr will target the ultra-premium market as well as Diongfeng’s Seres.

Yun Kang, global vice president of WM Motors from China, arrived in Israel as a guest of EV Motors before the start of the marketing of his company’s vehicles here in January.

The first model of the WM company to be sold in Israel will be the W5 model, which recently received full European approval, and can be marketed and sold without limit of quantities; it was the best-selling model in China in its segment in the last year.

“Israel is the first country where WM will begin operations, and immediately after launching in January in Israel, WM will begin operations in the entire European market,” according to Ohad Seligman, chairman of EV Motors, WM’s representative in Israel.

WM is an innovative company owned by technology giants Xiaomi, TenCent and Baidu, which develops and manufactures electric vehicles in several segments as well as autonomous vehicle technologies, and has been leading the annual sales in China since the release of its first model in 2019.

In January 2023, approximately 1,000 WM-W5 cars will arrive in Israel, most of which have already been ordered by Israeli customers.

During 2023, EV will market two additional models: WM-W6 and WM-M5. It is expected that in 2023, over 5,000 WM cars will be sold in Israel. (Globes/TNS)

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2022-12-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

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Jerusalem Post