According to the statistics released by the Turkish Automotive Distributors Association (ODD), in the first five months of this year the domestic passenger car market shrank by 16.9 percent compared to the same period last year, with sales declining to 193,641 units. In May, domestic sales of passenger cars totaled 50,460 units, down 10.4 percent compared to May 2011.
In the first five months, sales of light commercial vehicles declined by 29.2 percent compared to the first five months of last year, falling to 75,924 units. In May, sales of light commercial vehicles totaled 20,403 units, falling 16.2 percent year on year.
The association noted that the declines in vehicle sales in the January-May period were due to the increase in the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) imposed in Turkey on a variety of goods and due to sluggish economic activity amid the imposition of government measures to cool the economy. Meanwhile, the ODD has forecast that total sales in the Turkish automotive sector in 2012 will be in the range of 775,000-825,000 units.