Turkish automotive sales are set to more than double to 750,000 in 2004, boosted by attractive consumer credit terms and a surge in demand, Ford’s Turkish arm Otosan reportedly said on Wednesday.
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Reuters noted that sector officials had previously forecast sales volume of 700,000 this year compared to 366,927 units in 2003 -sales last year leapt 132.8% as the automotive industry rebounded from a slump triggered by a 2001 financial crisis.
Ford Otosan general manager Turgay Durak told the news agency the domestic market would contract in the third quarter because of a weaker lira, a rise in consumer credit rates and a reduction in tax incentives on scrap vehicle sales.
“These developments have resulted in a decline in the vitality of demand … we forecast that (the market) will grow again in the fourth quarter and end the year with sales of some 750,000 units,” Durak reportedly told a news conference.
According to the Automotive Industry Association (OSD), total vehicle sales surged 217% to 381,305 units in the first half of the year, Reuters noted, but vehicle sales in June fell 25% month-on-month and car sales dropped 30% as a result of a government decision to halve the tax incentive on scrap vehicles.
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By GlobalDataMajor domestic vehicle producer Otosan is a joint venture between Ford and Turkish industrial conglomerate Koc Holding, the report said.
Otosan has said it targets domestic sales of 130,000 units this year and turnover of €3 billion ($US3.6 billion), Reuters added.
