Demand remains robust for luxury cars

ISTANBUL

Turkish consumers’ demand for luxury cars remains strong despite the high foreign exchange rates and the cost of living, with sales of those vehicles rising above the market average.

Maserati, Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche are among the most popular cars. The sales prices of these super luxury cars range from 8 million Turkish Liras to up to 30 million liras ($1.1 million).

In the first seven months of 2023, a total of 372 Maserati were sold, pointing to a staggering 327 percent increase from the same period of last year, while Lamborghini sales soared 233 percent year-on-year to 10.

From January to June, 20 Bentley vehicles were sold in Türkiye, up more than 122 percent from a year ago. Aston Martin sales were up 33 percent to 16. Mercedes and BMW sold 10,713 and 12,505 cars in Türkiye in the same period, marking a 27 percent and 59.7 percent increase compared to the same period of 2022.

According to data from the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association (ODMD), passenger car sales grew 61.7 percent year-on-year in January-July to 516,288.

In July alone, passenger car sales leaped 109.4 percent to 85,916.

The auto market, including passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, expanded more than 63 percent in the first seven months of the year to 668,828.