Türkiye’s used car market expands nearly 7 percent in first quarter

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s used car sales rose by 6.7 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to data from VavaCars.

Transactions increased from 1.63 million units in the first quarter of 2025 to 1.74 million units in the same period of 2026. However, compared with the final quarter of 2025, when sales reached 2.07 million units, the market contracted by 16.3 percent.

New car sales, by contrast, fell sharply. In the first quarter of 2025, 265,002 new vehicles were sold, but this figure dropped to 222,022 in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 16 percent annual decline and a 32 percent drop compared with the previous quarter. Analysts pointed to regional developments affecting oil prices and volatility in investment markets as factors influencing consumer behavior.

Serdıl Gözelekli, Commercial Group President at VavaCars, said that despite the quarterly slowdown, annual growth in used car sales demonstrates the market’s strong demand dynamics.

“Especially during periods when access to credit is limited, used cars remain a more accessible alternative for consumers,” he noted.

Based on first-quarter data, it is striking that in Türkiye nearly eight used cars were sold for every one new car,” Gözelekli said.