The big BRIC car markets get all the headlines, but Turkish auto dealers are also doing big business; in fact, this is the best vehicle market in Europe.
Strong momentum in Turkish car sales numbers continues, to the surprise of virtually nobody who has an eye on this market. While aggregate eurozone car sales have slid 16% over the last year, Turkey is reporting triple-digit gains month after month.
In November, passenger car sales surged 181% on a year-over-year basis, edging up 4.6% even over October, when close to four times as many vehicles moved onto the already bustling Turkish roads. All in all, consensus is for sales to top 750,000 this year.
Granted, this initially looks like a bit of a sideshow compared to places like China -- where more cars are selling every month than Turks buy in a year -- but the fact is that the Turkish car industry is about 70% geared for export.
Companies like Tofas (TTOBF.PK) push a lot of cars and buses into the rest of Europe and down into the Near East. TTOBF is the top manufacturer in Turkey and is probably easier to trade via its co-owners, Fiat (FIATY.PK) and Turkey's Koc Group (KHOLY).
Renault's (RNSDF.PK) Oyak partnership is usually neck-and-neck with Tofas in terms of market share. Ford (F) is a major pickup maker, while Toyota (TM), Hyundai (HYMLF.PK) and Honda (HMC) all have a presence in the market as well.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
