Speaking in Antalya, where he attended Auto Show 2009, Sancaktaroğlu said that while demand for private cars was relatively high, the amount of commercial vehicles sold had decreased by some 15 percent compared to last year’s figures.
Noting that as the sector had entered a slowdown with the expiration of the tax incentives, Sancaktaroğlu stated that the sales figure was 21,000 last month and that the projected figure for November was some 30,000. “We were predicting approximately 100,000 automobile sales for the last quarter of the year, however sales have decelerated.”
Expecting a contraction in the market in the year ahead, Sancaktaroğlu said that the Automotive Distributors Association will present a plan to the government envisioning cuts in taxes along with decreasing vehicle costs. According to the situation, the market value of the sector will increase to $1 million, he said. The number of vehicles sold in Turkey remains low due to the relatively low average income, and Sancaktaroğlu warned that the sector will have no option but to contract by some 20 percent in 2010 unless an incentive is introduced. In order to ensure continuous auto production, the domestic market should be kept alive, he said. Recalling that the sector was about to stop operations at the beginning of this year he said that the sector managed to overcome this situation by the help of the incentives introduced in March.
Nissan managed to raise both its sales and market share despite the crisis, Sancaktaroğlu said. Nissan’s current share in the overall auto market is 1.5 percent, and this figure is expected to be increased to 2.5 percent in the near future.
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