According to the statistics released by the Turkish Automotive distributor Association (ODD), in the first quarter of this year the domestic passenger car market decreased by 20.6 percent compared to the same period last year, with sales declining to 97,536 units. In March, domestic sales of passenger car totaled 47,270 units, down 12.5 percent compared to March 2011.
In the first quarter, sales of light commercial vehicles declined by 35.3 percent compared to the first quarter of last year, falling to 38,217 units. In March, sales of light commercial vehicles totaled 17,614 units, falling 27.75 percent year on year.
The association noted that the declines in vehicle sales in the January-March period were due to the increase in the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) imposed in Turkey on a variety of goods, rising prices of vehicles, high interest rates and sluggish economic activity. 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.