Automotive sector sets sight on Brazil market

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s automotive industry aim to boost their sales to the large Brazilian market in parallel with increasing trade between the two countries, said Orhan Sabuncu, vice chair of the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB).

“Türkiye’s automotive exports to Brazil amounted to $119 million last year. The local automotive supply industry was responsible for the $118.3 million portion of the exports to this country,” business daily Ekonomi quoted Sabuncu as saying.

With its population of more than 210 million, Brazil has a huge potential and offers an alternative market for the Turkish supplier industry, he added.

Brazil’s motor vehicle production increased by 5 percent in 2022 from a year ago to 2.4 million which makes it the eighth largest producer in the world, according to Sabuncu.

The country made imports worth $7.5 billion from suppliers in other countries and Turkish supply industry’s share in those imports was 1.6 percent, he said, adding that its passenger car imports totaled $3.6 billion.

Sabuncu noted that Türkiye’s total exports to Brazil amounted to $1 billion.

“Our aim is to boost the automotive sector’s exports to Brazil in line with increase in overall bilateral trade.”

Some 21 Turkish companies attended the Automec Feira fair held in Brazil between April 25 and 29 under the coordination of the Turkish Trade Ministry.

Turkish companies held B2B meetings with 147 foreign companies during the fair.

Brazil is among the 18 countries Türkiye puts on its radar to boost trade under the Trade Ministry’s “Distant Countries Strategy.”

The local automotive industry’s exports climbed 23 percent in March from a year ago to $3.3 billion. This was the highest ever export figure for the month of March.

In the first quarter of 2023, the industry generated $8.62 billion in export revenues, a strong 16 percent increase from January-March 2022.

SAIC’s investment

Meanwhile, the Chinese carmaker SAIC Motors has put its Türkiye investment plans on ice for the time being after Türkiye in March imposed an additional 40 percent tariff on imported Chinese electric vehicles.

SAIC Motors has not scrapped the investment plan but decided to review it, according to daily Hürriyet.

Kağan Dağtekin, CEO of Doğan Trend Otomotiv, said that the customs duty does not encourage companies to invest in Türkiye. “On the contrary it discourages them.”

Dağtekin is responsible for MG’s operations in Türkiye. MG is owned by SAIC Motors.

“We wanted to lure this investment [by SAIC] to Türkiye, which could have bolstered our position in the local market and facilitated exports to Europe,” Dağtekin explained.

“We did not lose our hopes. We will continue to work on this,” he said.