While the eyes were turned to the SCT reduction in the automotive market, the statements made by the Minister of Trade, Mehmet Muş, suddenly came to the top of the agenda.
Minister Muş announced that they will intervene to prevent the ongoing opportunism in second-hand vehicles since the beginning of the pandemic, and also announced that a draft regulation has been prepared in this direction.
At this point, it is useful to remember once again the statements made by Minister Muş at an event he attended last week;
“There are brand new second-hand vehicle advertisements. New vehicles are bought and sold with a larger figure. There is a situation that triggers each other in automobile prices. We have prepared the regulation. After the first registration, companies, galleries, rentacars are allowed to sell new vehicles that they bought for 6 months and without exceeding 6 thousand kilometers. We impose restrictions.”
Noting that those who really need the car will buy the car with the said application, Minister of Trade Mehmet Muş also shared his opinion, “We think that after the regulation is published, the citizens will have more access to the first hand. We will not be faced with a second-hand new advertisement.”
While these statements started to show their effect in the second-hand vehicle market, positive messages came from the sector regarding the practice known as ‘6+6’.
However, the fact that the application announced by the Minister Muş will only cover companies engaged in the purchase and sale of second-hand vehicles has also led to the concern that opportunism in second-hand vehicles will continue through individuals.
‘IF VEHICLE SUPPLY IS NORMALIZED, THE PROBLEM WILL AWAY’
Making a special statement to Habertürk, Automotive Distributors Association (ODD) Chairman of the Board Ali Haydar Bozkurt said that what is aimed with the “6 months and 6 thousand kilometers” limit to be brought by the Ministry of Commerce is primarily to reduce the “bubble” prices seen in second-hand vehicles and to drop new vehicles into the showroom market. Said it was blocked.
Bozkurt said, “However, the implementation will not affect zero kilometer vehicle sales too much because the availability of new vehicles still remains slightly below the demand.”
Noting that the application can be effective in preventing ‘opportunism’, Bozkurt said, “Especially if there are institutions that queue for a zero kilometer vehicle and buy the vehicle directly when their turn comes, this restriction will hinder them to some extent. It may have a limited effect on real people. The supply of new vehicles may be normal. level will eliminate this problem,” he said.
‘SCT BASIS SHOULD BE UPDATED, NEW TECHNOLOGIES SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED’
ODD Chairman of the Board Ali Haydar Bozkurt spoke clearly about the SCT, which has been discussed in the automotive industry recently.
Bozkurt said, “When we think that the automobile is not a luxury but a necessity, and that everyone needs to be mobile today, we can say that these issues are one of the most talked about topics in the society. Therefore, political discourses or commitments from time to time begin to take place, especially in a country with high SCT. “It’s not that surprising,” he said.
Stating that the SCT rhetoric that occupied the agenda last month, especially in second-hand vehicles, caused a slight recession and thus a slackening in prices, Bozkurt said, “However, we will monitor whether the effect will be long-lasting. As a result, the supply is still not enough on the new vehicle side. The number of COVID-19 cases has started to put pressure on production again, and the currency-based cost of the automobile in production continues to rise. Given all this, it seems that the supply problem under normal conditions is a little difficult to solve in the near future. For any product whose price is expected to increase continuously and there is a shortage of supply. Unfortunately, the processes we are going through are coming to the fore at the moment. Let’s hope that the supply problem is solved as soon as possible, the foreign currency-based increases in the production costs of the vehicles end, the exchange rate does not increase against the TL so that we can gradually return to normal market conditions,” he said.
Emphasizing that he does not expect a decrease in SCT, Bozkurt shared his opinion, “However, I would like to state that the baseline update should now be done and the SCT application should be reconsidered in a way that encourages new technologies.”
‘A MEASURE TO AVOID OPPORTUNITY’
Automotive Authorized Dealers Association (OYDER) also made evaluations regarding the restriction on second-hand vehicle sales announced by the Minister of Trade, Mehmet Muş.
After the first registration, OYDER President Dr. Altuğ Erciş stated that they support the application, which is expected to come into force.
Erciş said, “The issue of the provision that second-hand vehicles cannot be sold for 6 months and 6 thousand kilometers after the first registration was shared with us at the meeting we held last week. We, as OYDER, expressed our support that this new regulation would bring regulation to the automobile market. We hope to get ahead of it,” he said.
Mentioning the problems faced by consumers due to high prices, Erciş said, “We think that the new regulation will be a useful measure in terms of eliminating the complaints and inconveniences that have arisen especially with authorized dealers in the recent period. It is known that there are institutions in the market that buy new vehicles from authorized dealers and sell them immediately at exorbitant prices. We think that such a measure will prevent exorbitant sales in the market and prevent opportunism in order to enable real consumers to access the vehicles more easily,” he said.
‘SECOND HAND CAR PRICES WILL BE REGULATED’
Cardata General Manager Hüsamettin Yalçın underlined that both 6 months and 6 thousand kilometers limit will be sought in the restriction to be brought for the purchase and sale of zero kilometer vehicles, and emphasized that the application is for companies, not individuals.
Yalçın said, “Thanks to the application, such advertisements will no longer be published by dealers. However, vehicles will be sold by waiting at dealers in order to fulfill the conditions. There is also the possibility of reducing sales in the short term on the new vehicle side of the application,” Yalçın said.
Stating that individuals will not be affected by this practice, a group of people trying to buy and sell a new mileage vehicle will maintain the same attitude, Yalçın warned, “The application does not prevent opportunism on the part of the individual.
Stating that the restriction to be brought to the vehicle trade will lead to a decrease in second-hand vehicle prices, Yalçın said, “During the pandemic, there were thousands of second-hand vehicle advertisements with zero kilometers. These types of cars were sold 30 percent more expensive than new vehicle prices. “There is a decrease in hand prices. Recently, there has already been a 6 percent decrease in used vehicle prices. With the said application, this rate will increase to 10 percent. We think that the application will lead to the regulation of second-hand vehicle prices,” he said.