According to data released by the Turkish Exporters' Assembly, the automotive industry accounted for 14.1 percent of the $157.6 billion worth of exports realized in Turkey. While the exports from the automotive sector was around $21.3 billion last year, this year it increased by 4.5 percent to $22.3 billion.
One third of automobile exports totaling $7.4 billion were made from Bursa, which is known as the Detroit of Turkey since it hosts factories of major industry firms such as Tofaş, Oyak, Renault and Karsan. Automotive Industry Exporters' Union Chairman Orhan Sabuncu, said they exceeded the amount they had targeted ($21.5 billion) while the real figure was around $22 -$23 billion.
"While we experienced a bit of a loss due to parity, we ended 2014 above our expectations," Sabuncu said. Emphasizing that their export target for next year is $23 billion, Sabuncu said if the parity is around 1.30, then they can achieve good rates. He further underscored that while the local market was stagnant, exports closed the gap.
"When we compare production values with November of last year, they are almost the same with no decline. Yet, the local market needs to improve. As we have mentioned before, in order to achieve this, a Special Consumption Tax needs to be decreased, maybe gradually," Sabuncu said.
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