Israel car imports shrink by 37.7 pct in May over COVID-19

Source: Xinhua | 2020-06-09

Israel's vehicle imports fell 37.7 percent in May year on year, the Israel Tax Authority said Monday.

According to the authority's figures, 7,088 vehicles were imported to Israel in May, compared with 11,380 in the corresponding month last year.

The authority noted that the sharp decline was due to the significant reduction in Israeli economy activity since mid-March, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Also, due to a directive to clear car warehouses at the ports for essential goods, many vehicle imports scheduled for May and June were advanced to March.

According to the data, all Israeli imports value totaled 4.7 billion U.S. dollars in May, a decrease of 15.1 percent from a year ago.