Pain in Turkey’s automotive sales extends in June, sector looks to second half

ISTANBUL

Turkish automotive sales fell 19 percent to 60,163 vehicles in June, the Automotive Distributors Association (ODD) has said, warning against further losses.

The Turkish automotive sector has contracted by a quarter in the first half of 2014, the Automotive Distributors Association (ODD) has stated, warning that domestic and international political tensions, as well as the Central Bank’s monetary policy, will shape performance in the second half.

Automotive sales fell 19 percent to 60,163 vehicles in June. In the previous five months the average slide was 26.3 percent, ODD figures revealed on July 3 showed.

As the sector continued bleeding in June, the total number of passenger car and light commercial vehicles sold decreased by 25 percent in the January-June period compared to the same period of the previous year, to 286,861.

Passenger car sales dropped by 18.89 percent in June, compared the same month last year, to 47,278 units. Sales in light commercial vehicles decreased by 18.48 percent to 12,885 units.

In a statement released to announce the June figures, the ODD said currency rates, the rise in loan interest, the higher special consumption tax (ÖTV) and the loan limitation introduced by the banking watchdog BDDK was causing the steep plunge in the sector.

It added that the presidential election process, the Central Bank’s tight monetary policy, geopolitical developments, and the monetary policies of European and U.S. central banks would all affect the market in the second half of the year.

Despite these factors, the ODD did not change its annual sales forecast of 650,000-700,000 vehicles over the course of the year.