Turkey’s automotive market contracted by 35 percent in 2018 over the previous year, according to data released by the Automotive Industry Association (OSD), which also announced a contraction of 33 percent in the automobile market, the Diken news website reported on Monday.
The production of automobiles in Turkey decreased by 10 percent from the previous year, with some 1 million vehicles produced during 2018.
The commercial vehicle market also shrank more than 40 percent in 2018, causing a 60 percent contraction in the last three-year period.
Turkey’s gross automobile exports decreased by 5 percent to $12.4 billion last year.
As part of an “all-out war” against inflation the government reduced sales tax on automobiles in November after inflation reached an annual figure of 25 percent.
Due to a currency crisis the country experienced last summer, with the national currency in free fall against the US dollar, some auto assembly plants temporarily halted production.