By Jeyhun Aliyev
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s car and light commercial vehicle sales from January to August fell 20.79 percent compared to the same period in 2017, the Automotive Distributors' Association (ODD) said on Tuesday.
A total of 440,428 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in the first eight months of 2018, down from 555,991 in the same period last year, according to a report from the association.
The number of automobiles sold reached 344,870 from January to August, down 18.5 percent from the same period last year, the ODD said in a statement.
The light commercial vehicle market slipped 28.04 percent, standing at 95,558 in the January-August period, compared to 132,793 during the first 8-month period last year, it said.
The most preferred vehicle type in Turkey at the end of August was sedan (51 percent), followed by hatchback frame (24.9 percent) and SUV frame (19.9 percent).
Data showed that Turkish buyers preferred vans the most (68.78 percent), followed by light trucks (12.26 percent), pick-ups (10.32 percent) and minibuses (8.64 percent) in the light commercial vehicle market.
In the Jan.-Aug. period, 114 electric cars and 2,858 hybrid cars were sold in the passenger car market in Turkey.
The report showed that a total of 34,346 automobiles and light commercial vehicles were sold in August, down 52.65 percent from the sales in the same period of last year.
Some 26,976 passenger cars and 7,370 light commercial vehicles were sold in August, decreasing by 50.85 percent and 58.23 percent, respectively, compared to August 2017.
