Luxury cars eclipse hybrids at Lebanon car fest

The luxury car market is taking center stage at the Lebanon Motor Show. Traders say the market is buoyant, with BMW reporting sales up by 48 percent in the country.

It's the second motor show here and the first to be held after a break since 2004.

The event is being held in cooperation with the Association of Car Importers in Lebanon (AIA).

Organizer Nabil Baz says the car industry is very important to the economy.

Nabil Baz, Organizer, Lebanon Motor Show, said, "Lebanese people like cars, they come and visit. The economy is very important for cars, cars selling were 32,000 last year so it is very very important for economy"

From Limousines, Coupes, 4WDs, Sedans, tools and car accessories there is plenty for car enthusiasts to get excited about including state-of-the-art features and the latest high technology.

James Crichton, Middle East BMW Director of Sales and Marketing, says that despite last year's economic difficulties sales in Lebanon have increased.

James Crichton, Sales Director, Mideast BMW, said, "This market is very important for us. We had a challenging year last year in the Middle East market. The overall market was down by 20.7 % in the total region that's in the GCC (The Gulf Cooperation Council - Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) and Levant (Middle East) markets. For us it was only 9% down but if you go and look more in the Lebanese market in Lebanon the sales last year were a great success sales despite of the difficult year were by 48% in Lebanon."

He also says that in the future BMW are going to focus on eco-conscious vehicles.

The Lebanon Motor Show began on Friday and ends next Sunday.