Auto production rises 13 pct in first half

ISTANBUL

Local carmakers increased their production by 13 percent in January-June from a year ago to 735,231, according to data from the Automotive Manufacturers’ Association (OSD).

The companies manufactured 462,401 passenger cars in the first half of the year, marking a 21 percent year-on-year increase.

The annual increase in commercial vehicle was 2 percent in the first six months to 273,000 units.

Including tractors, the industry’s total production was 765,282, and the capacity usage rate in the industry was 74 percent.

Carmakers shipped nearly 506,000 vehicles to foreign markets in the first half, which translated into an 8 percent increase compared with the same period of 2022. Passenger car exports grew 20 percent to 326,000.

The automotive industry’s export revenues amounted to $17.7 billion in January-July, rising 15 percent from a year earlier. In June alone, export revenues grew 8.8 percent to $3.06 billion.

The automotive industry’s production is expected to be around 1.5 million vehicles in 2023, said Cengiz Eroldu, the board chair of the OSD. Eroldu forecasts 1.1 million vehicles will be exported this year.

He predicts that more than 1 million vehicles could be sold on the local market in 2023, saying that the combined sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles may exceed 100,000 in July.

In the first six months, more than 581,000 vehicles were sold in the country, up 55 percent from a year ago. The passenger car market expanded by 54.5 percent to 430,000.

In June alone, the industry’s production fell 12.2 percent year-on-year to 119,000 vehicles, with passenger car output down 12.3 percent to 76,000.

Total vehicle sales grew 36 percent year-on-year last month, while the annual increase in passenger car sales was 40 percent to around 90,000.