Turkish automotive production continues

ISTANBUL

Automotive production in many Turkish factories has not been suspended so far despite the measures taken by the authorities to fend off coronavirus pandemic risks, representative of automakers said on March 18.

“We are in constant contact with our domestic and foreign suppliers. There are no problems in the supply of parts that could disrupt production in the following period. We have been continuing production in two shifts,” said Honda Turkey Vice General Manager Bülent Kılıçer.

He added that they will keep in touch with suppliers and the authorities regarding the virus outbreak risks.

Oyak Renault also said that the sector representatives evaluate the developments daily in a bid to continue production.

“We have been taking precautions in accordance with the directives of the Health Ministry, informing out employees regularly about protection methods,” said a statement from the company.

Tofaş, a joint venture between Fiat and Turkey’s Koç Holding, also said in a statement that production in its facilities is not disrupted so far.
On the other hand, Ford Otosan and Toyota Turkey suspended production until April.

EU car market contracts

The EU's passenger car market shrank 7.4 percent in January-February 2020 compared to the same period last year, an industry group said on March 18.

Automobile registrations across the 27-member bloc stood at 1.9 million in the first two months of this year, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said.

The EU is the main automotive export market for Turkey, where top international automakers - Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, Renault, and Toyota, among others - are operating.

European automotive giants have suspended production due to coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD) data, Turkey’s automobile market was almost doubled with a 97.9 percent rise in car sales to 59,743 in the first two months.

The country’s automobile exports rose 5 percent year-on-year to 134,282 passenger cars, according to Turkey’s Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD) data.