Auto sales soar 63 percent in April

ISTANBUL

Nearly 98,000 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) were sold in Türkiye last month, pointing to a 62.7 percent increase from April 2022, data from the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association (ODMD) have shown.

Last month, 77,400 passenger cars were sold on the local market, translating into an annualized increase of 69.9 percent.

Sales in the light commercial vehicle market rose 40.1 percent from a year ago to around 20,300.

In March, nearly 104,000 passenger cars and LCVs were sold.

In the first four months of 2023, the Turkish auto market expanded by 57.3 percent from the January-April period of last year.

Nearly, 334,000 passenger cars and LCVs were sold in the country in the four months to April, the ODMD said.

Data from the association also showed that electric vehicle sales soared 807 percent in April year-on-year to 2,857. EVs accounted for 3.7 percent of all vehicle sales in Türkiye.

In January-April, 7,527 EVs were sold, corresponding to a 3 percent share in the market. EV sales in this period grew more than 442 percent from a year ago.

Demand is strong as consumers anticipate that car prices will increase further, explained Hayrettin Ertemel from the Istanbul Motor Vehicle Dealers’ Association (İMAS).

“Prices of new cars were hiked between 4 to 5 percent in January due to rising costs, while the increase was as much as 70 percent from March last year,” he said.

Ertemel expects additional price increases between 2 to 3 percent in May.

“People see cars as ‘best investment.’ This explains the strong demand. When demand is so strong, price increase is inevitable,” he said.

The supply problems in the market regarding new cars are shifting demand toward second-hand vehicles, according to Ertemel. “Prices of second-hand cars have also been on the rise.”

He also predicts that second-hand car prices may go up by 15 percent in the next three months at a time when demand for those vehicles is strong, unless conditions in the market change.

Ertemel said there is an appetite for car loans but access to financing is limited. “Interest rate on loans offered by public banks is low, but private banks’ rates start from 2 percent and can go up to 4.5 percent depending on consumer’s credit history.”