Around 850,000 automobiles expected to be sold in Turkey in 2011, says Opel Turkey General Manager

BURSA (A.A) - December 5, 2011 - General Manager of Opel Turkey, Ozcan Keklik, said Monday that "around 850,000 automobiles are expected to be sold in Turkey in 2011". In an exclusive interview with the AA, Keklik said that they expected the Turkish automobile market to shrink by 10-15 percent in 2012. I do not join certain circles when they say auto sales have slowed down in the last few months of 2011, Keklik noted. The Turkish automobile market is very strong. Auto sales in August and September were higher than the expectations, Keklik said. Selling 850,000 automobiles shows the strength of the Turkish market. There may be a slowdown but a crisis is out of the question, Keklik emphasized. It seems very difficult to reach sales figures of 2011 in the year 2012. We expect the auto market to shrink by 10-15 percent in Turkey in 2012. The increase in loan interest rates and measures taken to counter current accounts deficit will lead to lower auto sales in 2012, Keklik underlined. In the past two years, Opel Turkey has increased its market share. In 2012, we will experience a transition with many new models. We would have reached sales of over 50,000 automobiles by the end of 2011. Our sales may go down in 2012 if the market shrinks, Keklik added.