Turkish auto market falls by over half in January

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Nearly 14,400 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Turkey this January, the Automotive Distributors' Association (ODD) on Monday.

Sales dropped 59.02 percent compared to the same month of 2018, according to a report issued by the association.

Nearly 11,000 automobiles were sold, down 58.74 percent on a yearly basis, the ODD said in a statement.

The light commercial vehicle market also dropped 59.91 percent, standing at 3,394 year-on-year in January.

Sedans (48.7 percent) were the most popular vehicle type in Turkey in January, followed by SUVs (24.8 percent) and hatchbacks (21.7 percent).

In the light commercial vehicle market, data showed Turkish buyers bought vans the most (68.86 percent), followed by light trucks (14.97 percent), pickups (9.46 percent), and minibuses (6.72 percent).

In the first month of 2018, five electric cars and 131 hybrid cars were sold in Turkey's passenger car market.

Over 486,300 passenger cars and 134,600 light commercial vehicles were sold during 2018, down 33 percent and 42.3 percent respectively from 2017.