According to the monthly report released by Turkish Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD), in May 2009, vehicle sales in Turkey rose by 25.66 percent year on year, to 64,874. In April 2009, yearly change in vehicle sales was 6.79 percent, compared to April 2008. Meanwhile, total vehicle exports in May 2009, amounted 51,413, decreasing by 45.7 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. The vehicle imports in the period in question increased by 16.8 percent year on year to 34,629.
In the January-May period of the current year, vehicle production totaled 305,240, decreasing by 48.8 percent, compared to the first five months of the previous year, while vehicle sales in the period in question amounted 219,308, down 5.2 percent year on year. In the first five months of 2009, vehicle exports reached to 218,086, down 52.9 percent, and vehicle imports totaled 125,931, decreasing by 3.6, all compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
On 16 March 2009, Turkish government has reduced the Special Consumption Tax (OTV) in the automotive sector from 37 percent to 18 percent for passenger cars, from 10 percent to 1 percent for the commercial cars and from 4 percent to 1 percent for the trucks and busses for three months starting from March 15, to boost the sales of the automotive industry, which is heavily affected by the global economic downturn. Automotive experts states that the tax reduction greatly helped clearing out the inventories.
On 4 June 2009, Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan, said that the government will support the new investment projects in automotive industry, that costs higher than TRY 250,000 (approx. $160,000) to enable the production of new models and to maintain the domestic industry as a dominant exporter in the region.
