Türkiye’s auto, light vehicle market contracts in Jan-Feb period

By Ali Canberk Ozbugutu and Emir Yildirim

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye’s automobile and light commercial vehicle market contracted 14.2% year-on-year in the January-February period, with 159,384 units sold.

Auto sales fell 9.8% on an annual basis to 131,965 units with light commercial vehicles declining 30.4% to 27,419 units, the latest data from Türkiye’s Automotive Distributors Association showed.

In February, the automobile and light commercial vehicle market contracted 14.4% with 90,730 units sold. Automobile sales fell 7.6% to 76,021 units and light commercial vehicle sales declined 38% to 14,709 units sold.

In the January-February period, A, B, and C segment vehicles with low tax rates made up 82.6% of the market. C-segment cars accounted for 56.3% with 74,343 units sold, while B-segment cars represented 25.9% with 34,175 units sold.

The most preferred car body type was the SUV with 58.6% share in sales, totaling 77,344 units sold, followed by sedans with 24.6% with 32,481 units, and hatchbacks with 16.1% share and 21,236 units sold.

Gasoline cars accounted for 49.6% of car sales in the January-February period, with 65,517 units sold, followed by hybrid cars with 28.7% and 37,864 units, electric vehicles (EVs) with 12.7% and 16,698 units, diesel cars with 8.7% and 11,430 units, and cars using LGP with just a 0.3% share and 456 units sold.

EVs with under 160 kilowatts (kW) rose 41.1% to gain a 9% share in January-February sales, while those with over 160 kW soared 259.1% to account for 3.6% of sales.

Automobiles with engines under 1,600 cubic centimeters (cc) (97.63 cubic inches) fell 32.8%, reaching 58% share in car sales in the January-February period, while automobiles with a 1,600-2,000 cc (122.04 cubic inches) range dropped 31.9% securing a 0.4% share, while autos with engines over 2,000 cc rose 22% to reach a 0.3% share.

Autos with automatic transmissions made up 94.2% of the sales, accounting for 124,287 vehicles, while those with manual transmissions accounted for 5.8% of the sales with 7,678 units.

In the light commercial vehicle market, vans were the most preferred body type with a 73.5% share in sales totaling 20,158 units sold in the January-February period, followed by pickup trucks with a 12.9% share and 3,544 units sold.