Car ownership drifts beyond reach of millions of Turks
Turkey’s currency crisis coupled with exorbitant taxes levied on cars has dealt an enormous blow to the domestic automotive market.
Bunyamin Celikkaya, a resident of Istanbul, has spent a year sifting through ads for a replacement for his 10-year-old car. His hunt seems to have become impossible amid the collapse of the Turkish lira that has fueled equally dizzying price hikes. The price of Celikkaya’s car has increased, but so has the price of the secondhand vehicles he would like to buy and the sum he needs to add to bridge the gap. “Car prices are rising by the day,” he said. “I am still waiting but am not really hopeful.”
Vehicles over 10 years old like Celikkaya’s have come to account for 55% of used cars on sale in Turkey, according to the car consultancy firm EBS. Cars older than five years make up 80%. Yet market trends show all of them are becoming unaffordable for many ordinary Turks.
