Turkey April 2020: Peugeot (+92.4%), Opel (+83.6%), Citroen (+97.2%) help contain market drop to -14.6%

Peugeot is the most popular brand in Turkey in April.

29/05 update: Now with Top 25 models.

Following the spread of COVID-19 in Turkey, a 15-day entry ban to the 30 provinces with metropolitan status was imposed on April 3 but infections continued to rise through the month to reach 120.204 and 3.174 deaths as of April 30, to be compared to 13.531 and 214 at the start of the month. The infection growth rate has reduced drastically over the past week however, which could indicate a faster crisis exit than we previously anticipated. On May 4, Turkish President Erdoğan announced very progressive measures to reopen the economy spread across May, June and July, including the ending of even and odd license plate rules for limiting movement across the cities will for commercial taxis in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir as early as May 5. All main local automotive factories are schedule to restart on May 11.

The Peugeot 3008 secures a 2nd podium finish in the past 6 months.

Despite the challenging context, Turkish new car sales drop by a moderate -14.6% year-on-year to 26.457 units in April, although it must be kept in in mind that April 2019 was a particularly low base: itself down -56.5% on April 2018. Thanks to a dynamic start of the year, the year-to-date volume remains in positive at +26.3% to 150.860. The brands ranking is a complete reshuffle showing all year-on-year evolutions possible. Peugeot (+92.4%) almost doubles its sales year-on-year to take the lead with 15% share, toppling Fiat (-26%) at 14.2%. The Italian brand however snaps the YTD pole position off Renault (-9.9%) down to 11.8% share this month. Citroen (+97.2%), Opel (+83.6%) and Mercedes (+36%) also post fantastic gains in the remainder of the Top 10 whereas Hyundai (-52.9%), Dacia (-33.8%) and Ford (-27.6%) struggle. Further down, Land Rover (+196.3%), Seat (+97.8%), Mitsubishi (+34%), Suzuki (+27.5%), DS (+25.9%) and Audi (+19%) stand out.

Over in the models ranking, below the usual Fiat Egea (-45.8%) and Renault Clio (+38%) topping the charts, Peugeot manages to place the 3008 (+130.9%) on the third step of the podium for the second time in the past 6 months after last November and the 2008 (+939.2%) at a record 4th place, smashing its precious best of #19 reached last January. The VW Passat (+77.5%) rounds out the Top 5 while the Citroen C5 Aircross breaks into the Turkish Top 10 for the very first time at #8. The Opel Corsa (#11), Grandland X (#15), Mercedes C-Class (#23) and A-Class (#25) also surge into the April Top 25.

Previous month: Turkey March 2020: Coronavirus halts recovery (+1.6%), market bracing for second shock in 2 years

One year ago: Turkey April 2019: Fiat Egea (+26.4%) keeps swimming upstream in market down -56.5%

Full April 2020 Top 40 All-brands and Top 25 models below.