Page 53 - TURKRptMar20

9.1.2 ​Automotive sector news
By end-December, the number of road motor vehicles registered topped 23.1mn, national statistics authority TUIK reported.
In the passenger car segment, Renault accounted for 15.4% of all new registrations, followed by Volkswagen with 9.3%, and Fiat with 13.9%.
The number of diesel vehicles in Turkey increased from 1.4mn in 2010 to nearly 4.8mn at the end of 2019, according to data compiled by state-run news service Anadolu Agency.
The number of vehicles that run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also soared, climbing to 4.7mn from 2.9mn in 2010.
Over the past decade, Turkey also saw a decline in the number of gasoline-powered vehicles. According to the news service, the share of gasoline-powered vehicles dropped from 42.3% in 2010 to 24.2% at the end of 2019.
Auto sales soared nearly 90% on an annual basis to 27,300 units in January​ thanks to both the base effect and lower borrowing costs.
In the month, passenger car sales expanded 100% y/y to 22,000 units, while light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales grew by a milder 55% y/y to 5,300 units, data from the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD) showed on January 4.
Following the strong rebound in sales, the ODD revised its sales forecast for 2020 upwards to 575,000-625,000 units from its previous estimate of 525,000-575,000.
Data from the central bank show that annual interest rates on car loans, which hovered at around 20% in November 2019, eased to 14%.
Over the past two years, the local auto market has sharply contracted. Back in 2018, vehicle sales stood at around 1mn units. Much slower economic growth as well as high inflation and jobless rates discouraged people from buying big ticket items such as cars.
In the final quarter of 2019, the Turkish economy started to show signs of recovery, even though the annual inflation and jobless rates remain high. The government is targeting GDP growth of 5% in 2020, a figure many analysts
53​ TURKEY Country Report​ March 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com