Sales of cars in Türkiye hit another all-time high in September, adding to the peaks since the beginning of the year, according to industry data on Tuesday that also showed electric vehicle (EV) purchases maintaining an unprecedented trend.
A record 96,793 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles exchanged hands last month, the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD) said in a statement, marking a 55.9% year-over-year increase.
Car sales in September surged by 76.7%, totaling 78,971 units, the data showed, while the market for light commercial vehicles saw a more modest increase of 2.4%, with sales reaching 17,822 units.
Demand soared as depreciation in the Turkish lira and soaring prices prompted consumers to continue to opt for cars they see as a tool to safeguard themselves from high inflation.
The boost last month resulted in the overall automobile and light commercial vehicle market surpassing the average September sales of the past decade by 58.1%.
From January to September, the combined sales reached a fresh record of 857,575 units, marking a year-over-year growth of 64.8%.
The figure surpasses the whole of 2022, when some 783,283 cars and light commercial vehicles exchanged hands.
Car sales in the first nine months soared by 67%, reaching 666,890 units, the ODMD said. The light commercial vehicle market saw an increase of 57.2%, with sales totaling 190,685 units.
Fiat led the way among carmakers in September, achieving sales of 15,537 units, followed by Renault at 11,714 and Ford at 7,023.
Meanwhile, electric cars have also been booming this year, capturing a market share unseen to date, backed by the first homegrown battery-powered vehicle brand that has been adding momentum to its deliveries.
Nearly 34,600 EVs have been sold from January through September of this year, the data showed, marking a 333.86% year-over-year increase.
Togg, the manufacturer of Türkiye’s first electric car, delivered some 2,204 units of its C-segment SUV T10X in September. This figure brings its deliveries since late April to 5,604 units.
Togg ranked second just after Tesla, which sold 4,700 units of its Model Y last month. The carmaker has delivered some 10,200 units so far this year.