Automotive exports leap to record $3.3 billion

BURSA

The Turkish automotive sector’s export revenues reached a monthly record of $3.3 billion in March, rising nearly 23 percent from a year ago.

This made automotive Türkiye’s biggest exporting industry, with a 13.9 percent share in the country’s export revenues last month, according to a statement from the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB).

In the first three months of 2023, local carmakers generated $8.7 billion in export revenues, up 15.8 percent year-on-year.

Germany was the main export market for the local automotive industry. Exports to this country amounted to $475 million, while shipments to France grew by 97 percent to $434 million. The U.K. increased imports from Türkiye by 15 percent to $309 million.

Passenger car shipments to foreign markets grew 47 percent in March compared with the same month of 2022 to $1 billion, while exports by the parts industry increased 15 percent to $1.3 billion.

Parts exports to Germany rose by 13 percent, while the increase in shipments to Italy and France was 9 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Exports to Russia soared 350 percent.

The European Union absorbed 70 percent of the Turkish automotive industry’s exports, with shipments to the bloc rising 29 percent to $2.3 billion. The share of other European countries was 12 percent.