Türkiye’s car and light commercial vehicle market reached an all-time high in 2025, with nearly one out of every six vehicles sold being fully electric, according to sector data.
Demand remained resilient throughout the year despite high taxes and tight financing conditions, allowing the automotive industry to break records in almost every month.
According to data from the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association, total vehicle sales rose 10.5% year-over-year, reaching nearly 1.37 million units in 2025, compared with 1.24 million units in 2024.
Sales in December alone climbed 12.6% to 191,620 units, highlighting the strong momentum in the market.
Population Growth and Fleet Renewal Drive Demand
Haydar Bozkurt, Chairman of the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association, said demographic trends and fleet renewal played a key role in the surge in demand.
“At the beginning of the year, we expected the market to remain at a similar level to the previous year. However, Türkiye’s large population, rising mobility needs, and the ageing vehicle fleet reaching renewal age became the main drivers supporting record sales,” Bozkurt said.
He added that the industry expects the market to remain at similar levels in 2026, while the long-term outlook could see annual sales reaching 1.5 million units or more.
Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Gain Market Share
Fully electric vehicle sales increased dramatically in 2025, jumping around 90% to nearly 190,000 units.
This pushed the share of electric vehicles in the passenger car market to 17%, up seven percentage points compared to 2024.
Hybrid vehicles also recorded strong growth, with sales rising 63% to approximately 295,000 units, accounting for 27% of the market.
Overall:
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Passenger car sales increased 10.6% to a record 1.1 million units
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Light commercial vehicle sales rose 10% to 283,904 units, also reaching an all-time high
Record December Performance
The market closed the year with particularly strong results in December.
According to ODMD data:
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Passenger car sales rose 8.5% year-over-year to 146,319 units, the highest monthly figure ever recorded.
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Light commercial vehicle sales surged 27.8% to 45,301 units, marking the strongest December performance since 2010.
Strong Demand Despite High Taxes and Tight Credit
The automotive market maintained strong momentum throughout 2025 despite tight economic policies aimed at controlling inflation.
Authorities maintained strict monetary policy and adjusted the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) on vehicles at the end of July.
Türkiye’s vehicle taxation system includes both special consumption tax and value-added tax, with the combined rate ranging from 50% to 284%, depending on the vehicle.
Inflation in Türkiye fell significantly during the year. Annual inflation ended 2025 at 30.89%, the lowest level since November 2021, compared with 44.4% in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye reduced its benchmark policy rate by 950 basis points, lowering it from 47.5% to 38%.
While the central bank has emphasized that future decisions will remain data-driven and evaluated meeting by meeting, markets widely expect the easing cycle to continue.
