Agencies
The automotive industry maintained its position as the largest export group from Turkey in the first half of the year, according to the industry data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) on Saturday.
The sector closed the first half of the year with $17.7 billion in foreign sales, according to data compiled from the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OIB) and the Turkey Exporters Assembly (TIM). This marked a 2.3% increase compared with the same period of 2023.During this period, local automakers predominantly exported their products to European countries, the data showed.
In the January-June period, the sector sent products to approximately 200 countries, free zones and autonomous regions, with nine out of the top 10 countries being European countries.
The European market overall stands as one of the top markets for Turkish goods with Turkey being the fifth largest trade partner for the EU in 2023.
Germany leads list Germany led the list with automotive exports amounting to $2.44 billion, followed by France with $2.07 billion.
The United Kingdom ranked third with $1.94 billion, followed by Italy with $1.66 billion and Spain with $1.23 billion.
The shipments to these five countries accounted for nearly 53% of the sector’s total exports.Exports to the remaining countries in the top 10 amounted to $733.34 million in shipments to Poland, $683.54 million to Slovenia, $622.4 million to Belgium, $564.08 million to the U.S., and lastly, $514.07 million to Romania.
Meanwhile, the data also showed that exports to several other countries have witnessed a notable increase in the January-June period.
Exports to Saudi Arabia leaped by 238%, rising from $41.83 million to $141.40 million. Similarly, exports to Australia saw a 114.7% increase, climbing from $60.96 million to $130.91 million compared to the same period last year.
The data from the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association meanwhile also revealed that despite the decline in the monthly export volume, observed in June, the sector preserved its top position in total shipments, accounting for 14.1% of the foreign sales.
The exports dropped 12% year-over-year to $2.6 billion in June, according to the data.