Turkey's auto sales drop 10% in 2012

Turkey's local auto sales, including passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, dropped by 10 percent in 2012 compared with 2011, data from the Automotive Distributors Association of Turkey (ODD) showed Tuesday. The total new car sales numbered 777,761 last year, recording a decrease of 10.03 percent year-on-year due to the economic slowdown and hike of auto taxes, chairman of the ODD Mustafa Bayraktar told reporters Tuesday. According to the report, the largest decline in Turkey's auto sales was seen in light commercial vehicles with an 18.25 percent drop over 2011. Meantime, passenger car sales decreased by 6.27 percent in 2012.