Turkish automotive market hits sales record in 2016

ANKARA/ISTANBUL

Overall auto sales market, including light trucks, hit a new record with nearly one million in sales in 2016, according to a latest release by the Automotive Distributors Association (ODD) on Jan. 6, as reported by state-run Anadolu Agency. 

The ODD said the overall auto sales market increased by 1.6 percent to reach 983,720 last year compared to 2015, marking the highest level of all times.      

The association has, however, expected 10 percent shrinkage in 2017 due to expected hikes in imported cars amid sharp losses in the Turkish Lira, Reuters has reported on Jan. 6. 

In 2016, the automobile sales climbed to 756,938 with a 4.3 percent rise, while the light truck sales declined by 6.4 percent to stand at 226,782 compared to the previous year, according to the release.      

Some 32 percent of overall auto sales came from domestically produced vehicles, while 68 percent of the sales were imported vehicles.      

The ODD also revealed that the almost 82 percent share of the overall auto sales were in the A (mini), B (small), C (standard) segments, of which tax burdens are relatively low compared to the upper segments.      

The C segment auto sales was top ranked with a share of around 50 percent and 377,549 vehicles in the market while the most preferred body type was sedan with a 47.8 percent share and 362,292 vehicles.      

The world’s prominent automotive producers, such as Toyota, Renault, Fiat, Ford, have manufacturing operations in Turkey, which is among the world’s top auto sale markets.      

The country’s automotive sector was the biggest exporter last year with around $23.9 billion in exports, up from $21.3 billion in 2015.