Turkey produces 1.3 million vehicles in 11 months

ISTANBUL

Turkish carmakers manufactured a total of 1.33 million vehicles in January-November, a 7 percent decline on an annual basis, data from the Automotive Manufacturers’ Association (OSD) have shown.

In the 11-month period, passenger car production dropped 6 percent from a year ago to stand at around 888,000 units, while the industry’s commercial vehicle output contracted 9 percent to some 438,000 units.

The association also reported that the country’s auto market shrank 29 percent on an annual basis, as a total 399,077 vehicles were sold in January-November.

Passenger car sales were down 26 percent to 317, 527 units and commercial vehicle sales plunged 39 percent in the 11-month period of 2019.

According to the OSD data, the auto industry’s export revenues fell by 4 percent on an annual basis to $28.6 billion, with passenger car exports declining 6 percent to $10.7 billion.

Local carmakers shipped a total of 1.15 million vehicles to foreign markets, which translated into a 5 percent drop from a year earlier. Passenger car deliveries fell by 7 percent to 756,807 units in January-November this year.

Last year, a total of 1.55 million vehicles were produced in Turkey versus 1.7 million units in 2017, according to the figures from the association.

Export revenues of the sector rose nearly 11 percent in 2018 from 2017 to $32.2 billion, with passenger car exports increasing 5.3 percent to $12.4 billion.