Turkish auto market shrinks in Jan-Sept period

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s car and light commercial vehicle sales in Jan.-Sept. period fell 26.12 percent compared to the same period in 2017, the Automotive Distributors' Association (ODD) said on Tuesday.

A total of 463,456 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in the first nine months of 2018, down from 627,343 year-on-year, according to a report from the association.

The number of automobiles sold reached 362,465 in the first nine-month period, down around 24 percent from the same period last year, the ODD said in a statement.

The light commercial vehicle market slipped 33 percent, standing at 100,991 in the Jan.-Sept. period, compared to 150,722 in the first nine-month period last year.

The most preferred vehicle type in Turkey at the end of September was sedan (50.8 percent), followed by hatchback frame (24.7 percent) and SUV frame (20.2 percent).

Data showed that Turkish buyers preferred vans most (68.48 percent), followed by light trucks (12.25 percent), pick-ups (10.44 percent) and minibuses (8.83 percent) in the light commercial vehicle market.

In the Jan.-Sept. period, 122 electric cars and 3,148 hybrid cars were sold in the passenger car market in Turkey.

The report showed that a total of 23,028 automobiles and light commercial vehicles were sold in September, down 67.73 percent from the sales in the same period of last year.

Some 17,595 passenger cars and 5,433 light commercial vehicles were sold in September, decreasing by 67.06 percent and 69.7 percent, respectively, compared to September 2017.