Doha, Qatar: Qatar has continued to see a surge in the sale of new vehicles in 2024, thanks to the country’s strong economic fundamentals and a steady rise in the population.

The country saw a total of 62,163 new vehicles registered in first eight months of this year, compared to 54,656 vehicles registered in the same period of 2023, a 13.7% increase.

Over 70 percent of all new vehicles registered this year so far are private vehicles, according to the data released by the National Planning Council.

The month of August, the latest month for which data has been released, saw a total of 8,605 new vehicles registered, logging the second highest figure of the year so far. As many as 8,903 new vehicles were registered in May, 8,512 in January, 7,835 in March, 7,733 in July, 7,231 in February, 7011 in April, and 6,333 new vehicles were registered in June 2024.

Of 8,605 new vehicles registered in August 2024, 6,641 were private vehicles, 216 private motorcycles, 1,173 private transport vehicles, 54 trailers, 131 heavy equipment vehicles, and 390 vehicles of other categories.

The number of private new vehicles registered in August 2024 was up 8.6% month-on-month and 27.5% year-on-year. New private motorcycles registered were also up 32.5% in August, compared to July 2024 and down 13.9% from August 2023. The number of new trailers registered also saw a surge of 3.8%, compared to July 2024 and 20% compared to August 2023. New heavy equipment registration fell 4.4% on a monthly basis and 47.8% on a yearly basis. Private transport vehicles’ registration fell 2.4% month-on-month and rose 2.6% year-on-year.

The surge in automobile sales is driven by sustained economic growth and steady rise in the population. Qatar’s total population stood at 3.054 million by the end of August 2024, according to the National Planning Council. The country’s population has doubled over the last 16 years, rising from 1.54 million at the end of October 2008.

Authorities also issued a total of 7,928 driving licences in August 2024, slightly up from 7,883 in July this year.

Following decades of rapid economic growth and infrastructural development, the country is working to further diversify its economy under the Qatar National Vision 2030. Qatar’s GDP growth projection for this year stands at 2.2 percent and is expected to rise to 2.9 percent in 2025, according to a recent Economic Insight report for the Middle East, commissioned by ICAEW and compiled by Oxford Economics.

Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy (NDS3) aims to achieve a four percent annual growth in non-hydrocarbon gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. It also aims to attract net foreign direct investment of $100bn by the end of the decade. Other 2030 targets include annual fiscal surplus of 5.5% of the GDP, six million annual visitors, and reducing GHG emissions by 25 percent.

While the country continues to attract talents from around the world, there has been a significant increase in the number of visitors and tourists to Qatar.

The country welcomed around four million visitors in first 10 months of 2024, according to Qatar Tourism statistics.

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