According to the statistics released by the Turkish Automotive Distributors Association (ODD), in 2012 the domestic passenger car and light vehicle market shrank by 10 percent compared to 2011, with sales declining to 777,761 units. In December 2012, domestic sales of passenger cars and light vehicles totaled 115,400 units, down 9.8 percent compared to December 2011.
In 2012, passenger car sales in Turkey totaled 556,280 units, falling by 6.3 percent compared to 2011, while sales of light commercial vehicles declined by 18.25 percent to 221,481 units on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, in December sales of passenger cars fell by nine percent to 80,926 units, while light commercial vehicle sales totaled 34,474 units, down by 11.5 percent year on year.
Turkey's passenger car and light vehicle market, which started to shrink in the third quarter of 2011, recorded a 11.75 percent year-on-year decline in the fourth quarter of that year. In 2012, the contraction trend continued in the first and second quarters with declines of 25.4 percent and 14.6 percent respectively. After a 4.7 percent year-on-year increase recorded in the third quarter, the country's passenger car and light vehicle market ended 2012 with a 9.8 percent year-on-year decline in the fourth quarter.
The association noted that the government measures to cool the economy, the increase in the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) and slowed economic activity caused a decline in vehicle sales in 2012.