Istanbul taxi age limits loosened, permitting older vehicles

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) approved new rules that relax the age limits for vehicles used as commercial taxis. For cars with a local‑content contribution above 50 %, the first‑acquisition age was extended from 0‑2 years to 0‑5 years. For vehicles below the 50 % threshold, the previous zero‑kilometre requirement was removed and the first‑acquisition age set to 0‑3 years. The maximum commercial service life for all taxis was increased to nine years, up from six years for the traditional yellow taxis.

The changes target models such as the Fiat Egea, Renault Megane and Toyota Corolla (high‑local‑content) and Kia Cerato, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Citroën C4 X (lower local content). Officials linked the reform to the cessation of Fiat Egea production and rising vehicle costs, aiming to lower operating expenses for taxi drivers and stimulate the second‑hand market. The Istanbul Taxi Drivers’ Chamber President İsmet Dalcı noted that the measures should ease fleet renewal and that discussions on future electric‑taxi conversion are ongoing.