Turkey’s automotive exports nearing pre-pandemic level

BURSA

Turkish automotive exports rose 16 percent to $26.4 billion in the first 11 months of this year, according to the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB).

With $29 billion at the end of this year, the sector aims to get closer to the three-year pre-pandemic period annual average, OİB said in a press release on Dec. 5.

However, automotive exports sank 6 percent year on year to $2.5 billion last month.

Despite the contraction, the automotive sector’s exports were above the 11-month average of $2.4 billion in November, OİB Head Baran Çelik said.

“While auto supply industry exports jumped in double digits, exports of passenger cars and goods transport motor vehicles declined in double digits. We also recorded double-digit growths in exports to countries such as Germany, the United States and Egypt,” he added.

In the three years before the pandemic crashed the global supply chains at the beginning of 2020, the average of Turkey’s automotive exports was $30 billion annually.

“In 2020, our exports slipped to $25.5 billion due to the pandemic. We are planning to end this year with $29 billion in exports,” Çelik said.

Turkish automotive exports’ share in the country’s overall exports is around 11.8 percent, according to his remarks.

Germany, Turkey’s top exports market, imported automotive products of $392 million in November, up 12 percent year on year.

In the same month, automotive exports to Russia, Egypt, Romania and the United States jumped by 44 percent, 31 percent, 25 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, automotive exports to France dropped by 11 percent to $291 million and exports to the United Kingdom contracted by 16 percent to $223 million. Exports to Italy, Slovenia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden also decreased in double digits year on year in November.

In the first 11 months of this year, automotive exports to Russia soared 50 percent to $642.7 million, while exports to the United Kingdom ($2.7 billion) and United States ($1.1 billion) jumped by 42 percent and 31 percent, respectively.(HH)

Domestic market narrowing

Affected by semiconductor shortage, depreciation in the value of the Turkish Lira and complicated special consumption tax base system, passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales dropped by 24.9 percent to 60,216 units in November, according to Automotive Distributors Association (ODD).

In the same month, passenger car sales declined by 33.2 percent to 42,982, while light commercial vehicle sales increased by 9.2 percent to 17,234.

Compared to the 10-year November sales average, passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales narrowed by 24.7 percent this year.