Automotive Exports September 2023

Automotive
exports expected
climb to $34
billion this year
The Turkish automotive sector’s export
revenues may climb to $34 billion this year,
according to a report by KPMG.
Last year, the local industry produced 1.3
million vehicles and sales on the local
market amounted to 827,000 while 970,000
vehicles were shipped to foreign markets.
Data from the Automotive Manufacturers’
Association (OSD) showed that export
revenues of Turkish carmakers increased by
5.5 percent last year compared with 2021
to stand at $31.5 billion. The industry’s
exports have exceeded $20 billion in
the first seven months of 2023, rising
16 percent from the same period of last
year, according to the Turkish Exporters’
Assembly (TİM). The automotive sector
accounted for 16 percent of Türkiye’s
total exports in the January-July period.
The KPMG report noted the availability
problems in the auto market due to the
semiconductor shortages, coupled with
the special consumption rates depressed
domestic demand in 2022. However, the
local auto industry appeared to have
overcome this availability problem. In July,
the combined sales of passenger cars and
light commercial vehicles (LCV) leaped
115.4 percent from a year ago. Passenger
car sales grew more than 109 percent to
around 86,000, while LCV sales soared
almost 138 percent to 27,000.
Experts said that carmakers were able to
deliver the orders to their customers, which
partially explained the surge in sales.
Consumers also decided to buy now,
anticipating that the car prices will
increase in the coming months due to the
depreciation of the Turkish Lira, which led
to a sharp rise in vehicle demand in July,
according to experts. Demand has been
strong over the past months also because
people purchased cars as an investment
to protect their savings against inflation.
Those, who cannot buy a house, which is
a favorite investment among Turks, due to
exorbitant property prices, turned to cars,
said experts.
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