MASFED President Erkoc said, “Despite all the negativities, the second-hand vehicle market grew in 2020.”
Second-hand vehicle sales in Turkey reached the highest figure of the last 5 years in 2020 when the use of individual vehicles instead of public transportation increased due to the new type of coronavirus epidemic.
Aydin Erkoc, Chairman of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Federation (MASFED), told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the second-hand vehicle market continued to grow last year despite all the adversities.
Erkoc said that while 8.7 million motor vehicles were handed over in 2019, this number rose to 9.2 million last year. He pointed out that the figure was 7.7 million in 2018, 7.5 million in 2017 and 6.7 million in 2016.
Stating that sales in the used vehicle industry increased until October last year, but there was a recession afterward, Erkoc pointed out that the number of handed vehicles fell by half in December 2020 compared to the same month of the previous year. Erkoc said, “The demand for second-hand vehicles has increased throughout 2020, both because of the pandemic’s inclination to individual vehicle use and the stagnation in the zero-vehicle market. Thus, the sector continued to grow for 5 years. However, since October, there is a big stagnation in the used vehicle market. In December, a total of 544,583 vehicles, 64.2% of which were automobiles, changed hands. In the same month of the previous year, this figure was realized as 1 million 22 thousand 892 and even the lowest sales of all months since 2016 were experienced in December 2020.”
“Prices got cheaper”
Pointing out that the prices have also declined due to the stagnation in the used vehicle market, Erkoc said, “Currently, there is a decrease of up to 15% in second-hand prices. Our citizens who want to buy a vehicle can take advantage of this opportunity, we are now at the right time to buy a vehicle.
Erkoc stated that the demand for second-hand vehicles, which has been postponed with the widespread and normalization process of vaccination, will also increase, and said:
“In addition, this serious drop in sales in December is an indication that potential buyers are also on hold. As of February, pending buyers will also take action, and the increase in demand will also be reflected in vehicle prices. Since we cannot predict how the pandemic will progress, the problems that may be experienced in the production and supply of new vehicles all over the world will also be reflected in second-hand vehicle prices.”
Erkoc added that they expect the second-hand vehicle sector to continue to grow in 2021 as well.
Source: AA / Translated by Irem Yildiz