Turkish auto market narrows in Jan.-July period

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s car and light commercial vehicle sales in the Jan.-July period fell 16 percent compared to the same period in 2017, the Automotive Distributors' Association (ODD) said on Thursday.

A total of 406,082 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in the first seven months of 2018, down from 483,455 in the same period last year, according to a report from the association.

The number of automobiles sold reached 317,894 from January to July, down nearly 13.7 percent from the same period last year, the ODD said in a statement.

The light commercial vehicle market slipped 23.41 percent reaching 88,188 as of Jan.-July, compared to 115,147 during the first seven months last year, it said.

The most preferred body type in Turkey at the end of July was a sedan (50.8 percent), followed by hatchback frame (25.1 percent) and SUV frame (19.8 percent).

Based on evaluations at the end of July, Turkish buyers preferred vans the most (69.06 percent), followed by light trucks (12.41 percent), pick-ups (10.14 percent) and minibuses (8.40 percent) in the light commercial vehicle market.

In the Jan.-July period, 104 electric cars and 2,510 hybrid cars were sold in the passenger car market in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the report showed that a total of 52,734 automobiles and light commercial vehicles were sold in July, down 35.92 percent from the sales in the same period of last year.

Some 42,024 passenger cars and 10,710 light commercial vehicles were sold in July, decreasing by 32.64 percent and 46.22 percent, respectively, compared to July 2017.