Automotive output, exports rose in four months of 2021

ISTANBUL

The Turkish automotive sector’s total production has reached 415,187 vehicles in the first four months of this year, an industrial group said on May 9.

The figure marked an increase of 28 percent compared to the same period of last year, when automotive production briefly came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions, according to a statement released by the Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD).

Car production in the January-April period rose by 18 percent to 288,211, OSD said.

The capacity utilization rate of the automotive sector was 69 percent overall; 62 in the heavy vehicles segment and 79 percent in tractor production, it added.

Commercial vehicle production increased by 52 percent to 162,976, according to the press release.

Automotive companies operating in Turkey exported 339,197 vehicles in the first four months of this year, up by 18 percent annually.

Car exports rose by 6 percent to 212,056, while tractor exports more than doubled to 8,469.

The automotive industry made the lion’s share of the country’s overall exports with 15 percent, according to the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM).

Turkey’s exports were up by 33.1 percent to $68.75 billion in the first four months of 2021, up from $51.64 billion in the same period last year.

Automotive exports rose 34 percent on U.S. dollar basis and 23 percent on euro basis, reaching $10.3 billion in the January-April period.

Car exports increased by 18 percent year-on-year to $3.5 billion in the same period.

The sector, which is targeting a yearly total of $30 billion in exports, made exports valued at $7.7 billion in the first quarter, up by 10 percent, according to the Automotive Industry Exporters Association (OİB).

In March, bus-minibus-midibus exports, however, contracted 4.5 percent to $98 million.

Germany was the top market for automotive supply industry exports in March with an increase of 51 percent. In the same subgroup, it was followed by Italy (up 102 percent), France (up 39 percent), the United States (up 35 percent), Russia (up 65 percent), the United Kingdom (up 23 percent) and Poland (up 58 percent). Meanwhile, automotive supply industry exports to Romania dropped by 34 percent.

France was the top market for passenger car exports in March with an increase of 93 percent. In the same subgroup, it was followed by Italy (up 162 percent), Spain (up 62 percent), Germany (up 94 percent), Poland (up 62 percent), Egypt (up 49 percent). Passenger car exports to Israel dropped 28 percent in the same month.

Prominent automotive manufacturers including Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Renault and Toyota have manufacturing operations in Turkey, which is among the world’s top auto sale markets.

Turkey’s car and light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales grew 60 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, according to the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD).

A total of 156,464 cars were sold in the first three months, up by 57 percent, while the LCV market grew by 70.3 percent with 42,196 sales.

Last year, total automotive production, which includes all types of vehicles, was nearly 1.3 million units. In the meantime, total automobile production tumbled to just 855,043, down by 13 percent on a yearly basis amid the pandemic.

Automotive exports totaled 916,543 units in 2020, while automobile exports were 596,616 units, down 28 percent over the same period.

Commercial vehicle production also narrowed in 2020, down 9 percent year on year.

Last year, the automotive industry’s exports totaled $25.9 billion, while the capacity utilization rate was 65 percent.