Turkey bans sale of second-hand vehicles for higher prices than new vehicles
The prices of second-hand cars in Turkey cannot be set higher than the prices of new cars advised by the automotive producers and distributors, according to the regulations published on the country’s official gazette.
The regulation, which was published by the trade ministry, will be in effect from July 15, 2023 to January 1, 2024.
Vehicles in Turkey are sold on the black market. Analysts link the strong demand for cars in Turkey to the country’s current difficult economic environment, where consumers see vehicles as a safer asset bet against inflation.
Demand for cars in Turkey is still strong and is not expected to weaken anytime soon, according to industry analysts. As a result, anomalies govern the market.
Turkey’s official consumer price index (CPI) inflation stood at 38% year on year in June versus 40% y/y in May. At 38%, Turkey remains in 13th place in the world inflation league.
The Istanbul-based ENAG inflation research group of economists, meanwhile, released an inflation figure of 108.6% y/y for June.
As of July 12, the USD/TRY rate in the interbank market was up by 34% to TRY26.1 from TRY19.49 on May 4. The latest record high of TRY26.33 was registered on July 5.
TRY28 and TRY30 are the levels that have been pronounced for the upcoming levels in the USD/TRY chart.
The Turks, meanwhile, terrified of the lira plunging, have been piling up cryptocurrency, cars and gold in addition to hard currencies.
In 2022, a record 9.6mn second-hand vehicles changed hands in Turkey.
| Number of second-hand road motor vehicles handed over in Turkey | |||||||||
| Year | Total | Car | Minibus | Bus | Small truck | Truck | Motorcycle | Special purpose | Tractor |
| 2010 | 3 925 620 | 2 631 721 | 108 509 | 46 640 | 658 108 | 140 080 | 173 301 | 2 903 | 164 358 |
| 2011 | 4 859 348 | 3 281 721 | 132 191 | 59 845 | 802 754 | 167 432 | 227 311 | 1 950 | 186 144 |
| 2012 | 4 719 295 | 3 152 010 | 124 469 | 60 785 | 794 881 | 163 000 | 246 878 | 1 935 | 175 337 |
| 2013 | 5 073 592 | 3 393 436 | 131 298 | 62 194 | 852 283 | 169 590 | 269 674 | 2 701 | 192 416 |
| 2014 | 5 610 420 | 3 857 061 | 139 094 | 53 392 | 916 015 | 168 591 | 277 241 | 3 595 | 195 431 |
| 2015 | 6 360 155 | 4 396 961 | 150 129 | 54 758 | 1 033 050 | 175 182 | 310 520 | 4 856 | 234 699 |
| 2016 | 6 728 894 | 4 727 073 | 143 178 | 53 245 | 1 073 987 | 166 786 | 332 553 | 5 273 | 226 799 |
| 2017 | 7 457 918 | 5 190 158 | 164 497 | 60 210 | 1 227 328 | 193 800 | 362 645 | 6 616 | 252 664 |
| 2018 | 7 732 728 | 5 443 487 | 162 436 | 48 193 | 1 255 538 | 187 807 | 383 654 | 8 373 | 243 240 |
| 2019 | 8 674 987 | 6 227 461 | 178 474 | 52 908 | 1 386 840 | 172 927 | 397 522 | 8 665 | 250 190 |
| 2020 | 9 214 940 | 6 477 155 | 181 898 | 45 312 | 1 486 762 | 207 439 | 510 743 | 12 002 | 293 629 |
| 2021 | 8 815 613 | 6 015 043 | 181 237 | 50 856 | 1 455 536 | 210 680 | 564 192 | 15 242 | 322 827 |
| 2022 | 9 563 925 | 6 396 191 | 181 493 | 51 068 | 1 564 826 | 226 382 | 771 856 | 17 277 | 354 832 |
Table: Second-hand vehicle sales in Turkey.
The record in new vehicle sales cannot be broken because there are not enough cars in the market to meet the demand.
Story chart: Passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in Turkey.
