Sales of diesel-powered automobiles in Turkey have decreased in the first four months of the year while electric and hybrid car sales were on the rise, indicating a changing course in the sector in line with global developments.

During the period in question, the sales of diesel cars, the production of which has been gradually reduced in the world and is planned to be phased out completely in the future, decreased by 10.3% year-on-year according to an Anadolu Agency (AA) report that cited data from the Automotive Distributors Association (ODD). Sales of electric and hybrid cars meanwhile surged by more than 200% year-on-year.

With 260,148 units sold, the overall market for automobiles and light commercial vehicles in the country grew by 72.4% in the first four months of this year compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the said period, automobile sales increased by 68.7% to reach 204,839 and light commercial vehicle sales jumped by 88.1% to 55,309, the ODD data shows.

According to the engine types in the automobile market, it was noteworthy that diesel-engine automobile sales were on the decline for the past year. The fact that manufacturers are offering fewer diesel-powered vehicles to the market compared to previous years is considered to be one of the important factors in the decrease in diesel sales.

The sales of hybrid and electric cars, which are expected to replace internal combustion engine cars in the future, continued to increase, as has been the case in recent years.

Despite the ongoing change, gasoline-powered cars ranked first with sales of 131,463 units in the January-April period while diesel car sales ranked second at 48,417 units.

While hybrid car sales reached 15,101, autogas (liquified petroleum gas, or LPG) car sales were recorded as 9,414 and the number of electric cars sold during the period in question was 444. As of the end of April 2020, a total of 58,142 gasoline cars were sold along with 54,003 diesel cars, 5,361 autogas cars, 3,834 hybrid and 115 electric cars.

Thus, as of the end of April, gasoline automobile sales increased 126.1% and autogas vehicle sales increased by 75.6% compared to the same period of the previous year, while diesel car sales decreased by 10.3%.

Hybrid car sales increased by 293.9% and electric car sales surged by 286.1%. This high rate of increase was due to the relatively low sales of hybrid and electric cars in the January-April 2020 period.

Shares of hybrid, electric cars

The share of diesel cars in sales, which was 44.5% in the first four months of 2020, decreased to 23.6% in the same period of 2021.

The share of gasoline-powered cars increased from 47.9% to 64.2% during this period, and the share of autogas cars rose from 4.4% to 4.6%. The share of electric cars in total sales increased from 0.1% to 0.2% and the share of hybrid cars from 3.2% to 7.4%.

Data for the first four months of 2021 indicates that although the increasing trend in the sales of electric and hybrid cars continues, the share of electric and hybrid cars, which have just become widespread in the world, is still low, and that the increase in the special consumption tax on electric cars has not had a downward effect on sales.