Türkiye's automotive market maintained its robust momentum in August, with passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales rising almost 13% from a year ago to surpass 100,000 units again.
The electric vehicle (EV) segment also continued its strong trajectory, sealing a third consecutive month with a share of above 20%.
The momentum persisted despite high borrowing costs, as authorities maintain a tight policy to cool demand, the main driver of inflation, and a special consumption tax (ÖTV) adjustment at the end of July.
According to data released by the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD), overall sales rose 12.8% year-over-year in August to 101,650 units. Passenger car sales jumped 18.7% to 82,215 units, while light commercial vehicle sales contracted 6.8% to 19,435 units.
Electric vehicle sales more than doubled compared to August last year, reaching 17,480 units. EVs accounted for 21.3% of the market, up 13.1 percentage points from the same month in 2024.
Among EV-only manufacturers, Türkiye's domestic producer Togg recorded 1,249 units sold in August, more than doubling sales compared to the same month last year. However, this remained below the company's monthly average of around 2,600 units this year.
Year-to-date, cumulative sales of Togg's C-SUV T10X reached 21,070 units, a nearly 42% increase compared to the previous year.
Tesla reached the No. 2 spot ahead of traditional European and Japanese rivals, as the U.S. brand benefited from buyers seeking tax breaks and a currency hedge.
The EV maker sold 8,730 Model Ys, up 86% from the previous month, in sharp contrast to a sales rout in some parts of Europe amid fierce competition from China's BYD and a backlash against CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla's sales, which marked a record for the company in Türkiye, trailed only Renault and surpassed local bestsellers Fiat, Volkswagen, Toyota and Hyundai, according to data from ODMD.
Tesla accounted for 50% of all electric vehicles sold in August, according to data from industry consultancy EBS Danışmanlık. BYD trailed Tesla with 1,639 units, with Togg coming in third.
Analysts said the jump in August partly reflects erratic allocations from Tesla's German manufacturing plant. In March and April, for example, it sold only about 100 units in Türkiye, before jumping to above 4,000 units in June and July, scoring around a third of EV sales.
Turkish buyers increasingly want electric-only vehicles because of lower tax rates, analysts say.
Tesla's base Model Y, the only one available in Türkiye, is taxed at the county's lowest bracket, considerably lower than conventional combustion engine cars, even after a tax hike in late July.
Türkiye's complex vehicle tax system includes a special consumption tax and value-added tax. The combined rate ranges from 50% to 284%.
Turks also see their Teslas, valued in euros, as a way to hedge against weakness in the Turkish lira.
Tesla sales for the January-August period jumped more than fourfold from the year-ago period to around 26,000 units. Togg was the second-best-selling EV brand.
Electric and hybrid vehicles combined accounted for 44.4% of the market in August.
In 12-month cumulative terms, an indicator that smooths out monthly fluctuations, passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales increased by almost 5% to nearly 1.3 million units, a historical high.
Prior to 2023, the market struggled to surpass the 1 million mark. In 2024, it hit a record of 1.24 million units.
Over the past 12 months, cumulative electric vehicle sales exceeded 170,000 units, while combined sales of EV and hybrid vehicles reached approximately 430,000 units, representing 41.9% of the market.
In the 12 months through August, the market share of EVs rose by 7.6 percentage points year-over-year to 16.6%, while that of hybrid vehicles grew 11.1 percentage points to 25.3%.
