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![\"T\u00fcrkiye](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6addb4d92818a025f780d08a.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Taylan \u00d6zg\u00fcr Dil-ISTANBUL
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T\u00fcrkiye remained Europe\u2019s sixth-largest passenger car market<\/a> in the January-September period of 2026 despite a sharp contraction in sales, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers\u2019 Association (ACEA) and the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD<\/a>).<\/p>\n Passenger car sales in T\u00fcrkiye fell 15.45 percent year-on-year to 627,977 units in the first nine months of the year, placing the country behind Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain in Europe\u2019s market rankings.<\/p>\n T\u00fcrkiye also ranked sixth in Europe for battery electric vehicle sales, with 120,329 units sold during the period. However, unlike most major European markets, both passenger car and electric vehicle sales declined.<\/p>\n The European car market, including the EU, EFTA countries and the United Kingdom, expanded 6.3 percent year-on-year to 10.56 million units in the first nine months of 2026 despite high energy prices and economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n Germany remained Europe\u2019s largest car market, with sales rising 5.3 percent to 2.22 million units. The United Kingdom followed with 1.74 million units, ahead of Italy with 1.27 million, France with 1.23 million and Spain with 912,059 units.<\/p>\n While all of the five largest European markets recorded growth, T\u00fcrkiye posted the steepest decline among Europe\u2019s 10 largest passenger car markets.<\/p>\n In the battery electric vehicle segment, T\u00fcrkiye retained its sixth-place ranking, selling 120,329 units between January and September and outperforming markets such as Norway, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.<\/p>\n Germany led electric vehicle sales with 604,144 units, followed by the United Kingdom with 454,947 and France with 387,342. Belgium ranked ahead of T\u00fcrkiye with 125,220 units, while Denmark recorded 124,049 units.<\/p>\n However, sales trends diverged sharply from those in other major markets. Battery electric vehicle sales increased 58.1 percent in Germany, 79.1 percent in France and 30.2 percent in the United Kingdom, while T\u00fcrkiye recorded a 9.1 percent decline.<\/p>\n As a result, T\u00fcrkiye was the only market among Europe\u2019s top 10 electric vehicle markets to post a contraction in sales.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s shift toward electrification also accelerated during the period. In EU countries, the market share of battery electric vehicles rose to 22.7 percent from 16.1 percent a year earlier. Hybrid vehicles became the most preferred powertrain with a 36.3 percent share, while plug-in hybrids reached 10.1 percent.<\/p>\n By contrast, the combined market share of gasoline and diesel cars declined to 28.2 percent from 36.9% percent in the same period of the previous year.<\/p>\n Despite remaining Europe\u2019s sixth-largest market for both passenger cars and electric vehicles, T\u00fcrkiye faces the risk of being excluded from the EU\u2019s proposed \u201cMade in EU\u201d plan.<\/p>\n The initiative, backed by Germany and France, has continued to draw criticism from manufacturers. Most recently, Ola K\u00e4llenius, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz, warned that local production requirements could increase costs across the automotive industry.<\/p>\n \u201cA modern automobile consists of thousands of parts sourced from different regions of the world,\u201d K\u00e4llenius said. \u201cYou are creating resilience, which is a good thing, but you are also pushing costs higher. It is a matter of balance.\u201d<\/p>\n