Turkey's public vehicle fleet expands despite savings package

In May 2024 the Turkish Treasury announced a Savings and Efficiency Package that required the disposal of surplus, end‑of‑life public vehicles and imposed limits on new purchases. Budget data, however, reveal that the public vehicle fleet grew instead of shrinking. The number of state‑owned vehicles rose from 111,599 in 2024 to 120,817 by June 2025, adding 9,218 vehicles, with a further 1,667 slated for 2026.

Spending on new vehicle acquisitions totalled 3.109 billion TL in the second half of 2024, 6.847 billion TL in 2025 and 111.694 million TL in the first five months of 2026—over 10.067 billion TL since the package’s launch. By contrast, sales of decommissioned vehicles generated only about 99 million TL, roughly one‑thousandth of the purchase outlays. Expenditures on tires and spare parts also rose sharply, from 84.8 million TL to 117.2 million TL in early 2025, and from 41.2 million TL to 58 million TL for spare parts.

The data suggest that the intended fiscal savings in the public transport sector have not materialised, with the fleet expanding and spending escalating despite the announced austerity measures.