Automotive market expands 19 percent in May

ISTANBUL

The combined sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles increased by 19.2 percent on an annual basis in May to 65,200 units.

Passenger car sales rose by 20 percent last month from a year ago, data from the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD) showed.

In the month, more than 13,400 light commercial vehicles were sold on the domestic market, pointing to a robust 16 percent increase compared to May 2021.

The automotive market contracted in the previous four months, with sales dropping as much as 33 percent in March. Sales were down by 13 percent in January and another 15 percent in February.

The pace of contraction slowed to 2.4 percent in April.
From January to May, 277,000 were sold, which marked a 12 percent decline from the same period of 2021.

Passenger car sales were down 13.6 percent to 214,148 units, while light commercial vehicle sales fell by 5.7 percent to 63,000 units.

The ODD data also showed that 376 electric cars were sold, up 117 percent from a year ago, and hybrid vehicle sales increased by 66 percent to 5,547 units.

In the first five months of the year, electric and hybrid vehicle sales rose by 186 percent to 1,764 units and 8.5 percent to 22,153, respectively.