Gov’t scrutinizing secondhand car sales

ANKARA

Authorities have announced a raft of regulations aims at bringing exorbitant prices in the secondhand car market under control.

The price of secondhand cars put up for sale online should not exceed that of new cars, said Trade Minister Ömer Bolat.

“This issue has been discussed with all online platforms. The impact of this measure on prices should be felt soon, probably in July or August,” Bolat said.

Meanwhile, the Trade Ministry announced several actions designed to fight what it calls stockpiling and exorbitant prices in the car market.

As part of those measures, the regulation, dubbed “6 month-6,000 kilometers,” has been extended until Jan. 1, 2024.

According to the regulation, which was introduced in July last year, businesses which engage in car trading should keep the new vehicles they bought for at least 6 months or until the vehicles cover 6,000 kilometers before selling them.

Under the new measures the ministry announced this week, the “6 month-6,000 kilometers,” rule will also apply to individuals.

The ministry said it will regularly inspect all car sales by individuals and share information regarding transactions with the Finance Ministry to make sure that tax is collected from car sales.

Experts from the auto industry link the recent surge in demand for vehicles to consumers’ behavior in the face of elevated inflation. They say people view cars as an investment which they can make financial gains by buying and selling them.

The year-on-year combined sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles soared more than 60 percent in the months of February, March and April, while vehicle sales rose 71 percent in May from a year ago.

In the first five months of 2023, total vehicle sales increased 60.5 percent year-on-year to 445,000, according to the data from the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association (ODMD).