The automotive industry, Türkiye's leading export sector, boosted its shipments by approximately 6% in 2024 compared to a year before, achieving over $37 billion in foreign sales, the industry data showed on Monday.

The exports from the sector in 2024 increased by 6.3% compared to the previous year, reaching $37.2 billion (TL 1.31 trillion), according to data from the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters' Association (OIB).

Maintaining its top position in the country's export rankings, the sector succeeded in becoming the export champion for the 18th time in the past 19 years. The sector also held a leading position in exports in 2023, with a volume of $35 billion, according to Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) data.

The automotive sector's share of Türkiye's total exports stood at 17.3% last year, the data showed.

Last week, announcing preliminary trade data for last year, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the exports from the country rose by 2.5% annually for a new record of $262 billion.

In 2024, Germany remained the largest market for automotive exports, with $4.85 billion worth of exports.

On the other hand, the shipments from the sector to the United Kingdom, the second-largest market, increased by 25%, while Italy saw a 9.5% rise, Slovenia 33%, the U.S. 19% and Romania 33.5%.

The European Union, the largest regional market with a 68.2% share, accounted for $25.3 billion in automotive exports in 2024.

Exports to other European countries increased by 25%, to the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) by 17%, and to Oceania countries by 55%.

In a statement, OIB Chairperson Baran Çelik noted that 2024 was a challenging year for the global economy.

He stated that they had faced a year of declining demand in the global market but emphasized: "Despite this, as the automotive industry, we managed to maintain our export leadership in 2024. In the last month of the year, we recorded a 19% increase in exports of passenger cars and motor vehicles designed for transporting goods."