Auto sales decline for second month in a row in February

ISTANBUL

Auto sales fell by 14.4 percent year-on-year in February after declining 13.9 percent in the previous month, data from the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association (ODMD) showed on March 4.

A total of 90,730 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Türkiye last month. This, however, compared favorably with the 68,654 sales in January.

The pace of the annual decline in passenger cars slowed from 12.6 percent in January to 7.6 percent in February to a little more than 76,000 units. In January, around 56,000 passenger cars were sold in the local market.

Light commercial vehicle sales plunged 38 percent annually to 14,709 units.

Electric vehicle sales surged 80.6 percent from a year ago to 10,473 last month, capturing a share of 13.8 percent. Pure electric vehicle sales soared 119 percent year-on-year to 10,324, ODMD said.

In the first two months of 2025, 16,698 EVs were sold, marking a 70.9 percent increase from a year earlier, with pure EV sales rising 98.6 percent to 16,395 units.

Domestic EV brand Togg delivered 3,608 vehicles in January-February, while Tesla’s sales amounted to 3,310, according to ODMD data.

In January-February, the local auto market shrank 14.2 percent year-on-year to 159,384 units.

Passenger car sales were down 9.8 percent to 131,965, while light commercial vehicle sales plunged more than 30 percent annually to 27,419.