Automotive sales decline 33 percent in March

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s automotive market shrank more than 33 percent on an annual basis in March, according to data from the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD).

Passenger car sales fell by 34.3 percent in the month from a year ago to 50,170 units, while the decline in light commercial vehicle sales was nearly 30 percent.

In March, a little more than 14,000 light commercial vehicles were sold on the local market. Total sales stood at 64,267 units.

In January and February this year, 38,000 and 49,600 vehicles were sold in Turkey, respectively.

Passenger car sales increased in March compared to January and February, but there were still 5.8 percent below the 10-year average for the month.

ODD also reported that 638 electric cars were sold in Turkey in March, which corresponded to a 267 percent increase on an annual basis. The share of electric cars in total sales was only 1.3 percent. Hybrid car sales, on the other hand, fell 3.4 percent to 6,024 units, accounting for 12 percent of all vehicle sales.

In January-March, electric car sales grew by a strong 244 percent to 1,073, but hybrid car sales fell by 17 percent to 11,227 units.

In the first quarter of 2022, Turkey’s automotive market contracted 23.5 percent compared to the same period of last year.

Passenger car sales were down 25.3 percent to 116,834 units and light commercial vehicle sales dropped 16.5 percent to 35,216.