European auto market expands in first 5 months

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - The European automotive market grew 2.2 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2018, Turkey’s Automotive Distributors' Association said on Monday.

The number of vehicles sold in the EU 28 and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries reached nearly 7.1 million during the first five months, up from 6.9 million in the same period of 2017, the association said in a statement, citing statistics of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.

The association said Romania posted the highest yearly increase in the January-May period -- 29.3 percent -- followed by Hungary with 28.6 percent, and Lithuania and Bulgaria, both with 25.6 percent.

In the five-month period, Turkey became Europe's seventh-biggest automotive market, with 234,645 vehicles sold, down 2.13 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the European automotive market saw an increase of 0.6 percent in sales in May, compared to the same month of the previous year.

A total of 1.44 million vehicles were sold in the month, up from 1.43 million in March 2017.

The EU is the main automotive export market for Turkey, where prominent international automakers -- including Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Renault, and Toyota -- have manufacturing operations.

Last year, nearly 80 percent of Turkey's total automotive exports went to EU countries, totaling $22 billion, an annual rise of 17 percent.