Sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Turkey rose by 37.4pc to 102,232 units in February from 74,395 units sold in the previous year, according to Turkey’s auto body, Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD). Auto sales in February were the highest in 2021 in a span of 10 years.
Sales of passenger cars were 44,749 units, up 18pc in February from the prior year, accounting for 76pc of the total sales. A total of 13,755 units of light commercial vehicles were sold in February, up by 46.6pc from February in the prior year.
Among passenger cars, sedans were the most sold with 33,616 units, up 19pc. SUV sales stood at 27,097 units, up from 17,690 units or by 53pc from the year prior.
Commercial vehicle sales rose on the back of high sales of vans at 17,365, up almost 60pc from 2020. Pickup trucks and minibus sales were limited but higher than previous year. Around 1,296 pickup trucks were sold and 663 mini-busses sold in 2021.
Sales are expected to climb in March too given the easing of restrictions through lifting the weekend curfews. Strengthened lira also resulted in increased sales which will likely continue. New car brands and models will push sales higher, according to ODD head.