Türkiye’s automotive exporters have achieved their highest January-September sales ever, according to industry data, driven by shipments to the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The industry saw a 5.3% increase in exports in the first nine months to $26.9 billion, data compiled from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) showed. In September alone, the sector’s sales surged by 20.9% year-over-year to $3.4 billion.
The automotive industry’s share of Türkiye’s total exports worth $192.8 billion stood at 16.2% for the January-September period.
Breaking down the sector's exports, the main automotive industry contributed $15.7 billion, while the sub-industry accounted for $11 billion.
Germany leads, U.K. sees sharp increase
Germany remained the top export destination, having received $3.6 billion worth of Turkish automotive products, the data showed. The United Kingdom followed with $3.2 billion, and France with $3 billion. Italy and Spain rounded out the top five, with $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.
The United Kingdom saw the largest growth in Turkish automotive exports, with an increase of $796.7 million. Other markets experiencing significant growth were Romania ($220.4 million), Italy ($220 million), Slovenia ($212.9 million), and the United States ($125.6 million).
In total, sales to Slovenia reached $1.2 billion, to the U.S. $886 million, and to Romania $819.7 million.
On a provincial level, Kocaeli led the charge in automotive exports with $6.9 billion in sales during the first nine months of the year. Istanbul followed with $6.1 billion, Bursa with $5.3 billion, Sakarya with $4.1 billion, and Ankara contributed $1.1 billion.
Post-pandemic rebound
Türkiye automotive exports have significantly recovered from the pandemic-related downturn.
In 2019, the sector's exports had dropped by 3.7% to $22.5 billion, followed by a sharp 24% decline in 2020 to $17.1 billion. However, the industry rebounded in 2021 with a 24% increase, reaching $21.2 billion in the first nine months.
In 2022, as pandemic effects began to wane, exports continued their upward trend, growing by 5.1% to $22.3 billion. The following year saw a 14.8% rise to $25.6 billion.