Turkish auto market narrows in first half of year

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA

The Turkish overall auto sales market, including light trucks, slipped 11.92 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2017, the Automotive Distributers' Association (ODD) said on Tuesday.

Total sales stood at 353,348 in the first half of 2018, down from 401,158 in 2017, the ODD said in a statement.

The number of cars sold reached 275,870 from January to June, down 9.82 percent from the same period last year, it said.

Meanwhile, the country's overall auto sales market also slid 39 percent in June 2018, down to 51,037 from 83,658 in the same month last year.

Considering the whole auto market in Turkey, Renault was the top brand with over 50,000 sales in January-June, followed by Fiat and Volkswagen with sales of 39,200 and 39,000, respectively.