Automotive sales in the Turkish domestic market jumped year on year in May, mostly on base effect, as domestic sales in Turkey fell sharply in the same month the previous year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Domestic passenger and light commercial vehicles sales rose by 69.8% on year to 54,734 units in May, the latest monthly Turkish Automotive Distributors Association (ODD) data showed.
Domestic sales of passenger vehicles increased by 72.1% on year to 43,138 units, while light commercial vehicle sales rose more 61.9% to 11,596 units, according to the data.
Domestic passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in May 2021, however, were a 20.7% decline compared to the May sales average of the last ten years.
Domestic passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in the first five months of the year totaled 314,882 units, up 72% on year.
The rising trend in auto sales in Turkey is expected to continue in the coming months with the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic amid progressing vaccination, which could also increase automotive steel demand.
The Turkish government’s TOGG domestic electric car project is also expected to support automotive steel demand in Turkey. The factory, based in Gemlik, Bursa province, with an annual capacity of 175,000 vehicles, is expected to be completed by 2022 and will be Turkey’s first domestic car engineering, design and production center.
— Cenk Can
