By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter

New car sales in Qatar slightly fell over the past few months, except during the holy month of Ramadan, a number of sales managers and representatives told Gulf Times.

"An increasing number of used cars in the market was one of the key factors affecting the sales of new cars," a sales executive at one of the leading car dealers in Doha explained.

As a result, almost all dealers and distributors are taking various measures to cope with the decrease in sales.

“If you noticed, there are huge promotions and discounts for new buyers during this time of the year and a lot of people know that we normally do this only during Ramadan,” he noted.

The car dealer is offering 15% to 20% discount for different units such as sedans, pick ups and SUVs to attract more customers.

The price of a bestselling SUV, which is popular mostly among Qataris, has been reduced from around QR220,000 to QR190,000. It has a cash back of QR10,000 with free insurance and registration.

Discounts for smaller SUVs and sedans range from QR9,000 to QR11,000 although some models may not be available right away, according to the sales executive.

Some dealers offer free service packages up to three years, free window tinting, zero or lower down payment and lower price on some of their units, among others.

It is also learnt that discounts and lower interest rates on car loans offered by many banks also continued from Ramadan up to September.

However, he lamented that most expatriates nowadays opt for slightly used cars which are cheaper and have lower maintenance cost.

He disclosed that a lot of units had been repossessed by banks since many of their customers lost their jobs and had to discontinue their payment.

“The number of second hand cars continues to increase in Qatar and it is really affecting our sales,” he added.

A sales representative of another car dealer echoed the same statement saying the number of customers visiting their showroom had decreased in the past few months compared with the figures last year.

While retail sales slightly fell, he stressed that many companies had recently bought new cars (mostly sedans) for their daily operations.

“Car sales from these companies helped us cope with the decline in retail sales,” he said. “That is probably one of the reasons why the impact is less on our part.”

The sales representative said car sales are also expected to slow again by the end of the month due to the Eid al-Adha holidays.