Turkish car market contracts one third in February

ISTANBUL

Car sales were at 27,167 units with a 26.2 percent decrease, the light commercial vehicle market posted an even worse outlook, falling 31.7 percent to 7,854 units sold.

The Turkish automobile market contracted 27.5 percent in February 2014 due to the combined impact of the New Year’s tax hike, restrictions introduced on consumer loans, and the weakening of the Turkish Lira.

According to data released by the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD), the market has dropped to 35,021 units sold in February, totaling 67,691 units for the first two months of this year – 19.3 percent lower than last year’s period.

While car sales were at 27,167 units with a 26.2 percent decrease, the light commercial vehicle market posted an even worse outlook, falling 31.7 percent to 7,854 units sold.

The data revealed that the surprise hike in the special consumption tax (ÖTV) charged on cars and the limitations on consumer loans took their toll in February, adding pressure from the continuing slump of the lira against the dollar.

The government hiked the consumption tax on passenger cars at the beginning of 2014 by between 5 and 15 percent, depending on the size of the engine.

In addition, a regulation introduced to raise the down payment on car loans by the country’s banking watchdog, the BDDK, has also curbed domestic consumer spending.

Amid the mounting upheaval in the market, which is expected to contract significantly in 2014, Turkish automotive sector representatives last week decided to postpone the Autoshow fair, which had been scheduled for October, until next year.