Auto sales plunge 10 percent in May to 100,300 units

The combined sales of passenger cars and light commercial declined by 10 percent in May from a year ago, the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD) said on June 4.

Some 100,305 vehicles were sold in Türkiye last month, according to ODMD data. This followed the 22.3 percent contraction in the local auto market in April.

Passenger car sales were down 8.2 percent year-on-year to 80,260, after declining nearly 21 percent in April.

Light commercial vehicle sales, which fell by 7.9 percent in March and 28.6 percent in April, plunged 17 percent to around 20,000 units in May.

Last month, a total of 7,968 electric vehicles were sold in the country, marking a 185.4 percent increase from May 2023. EVs accounted for 9.9 percent of all vehicle sales in May.

EV sales surged 200 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2024 to 31,070, capturing 8.3 percent in the market.

The country's first indigenous EV brand Togg was the market leader. The company delivered a total of 11,288 vehicles in the January-May period.

The U.S. carmaker Tesla delivered only 412 vehicles in the first five months of 2024.

Chinese companies Chery and BYD sold 26,990 and 1,065 cars, respectively, in the same period.

From January to May, vehicle sales increased by 6 percent annually to 471,743 units, with the passenger car market expanding by 10.25 percent.

In the first five months of 2024, 375,000 passenger cars were sold in the country.

Light commercial vehicle sales, however, fell 7.9 percent year-on-year to 96,646, ODMD data showed.