Turkish automotive sector expects record high sales, production figures

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Record high figures are expected in the Turkish automotive sector’s exports, domestic market sales and production volume this year due to the recovery in European markets and the support of the incentive system, according to Automotive Industrialists’ Association (OSD) head Kudret Önen.   

Önen said the sector had announced a total $4.5 billion investment plan in 2013 and 2014, and its production capacity will increase to 1.7 million units when these investments are realized. 

“The sector aims to reach 4 million units in production and 3 million units in exports by 2023. The 2013 export target was set at $75 billion by the sector. In this vein, the sector’s investments have been supported by the state since 2012. After the investment incentive package was revealed, many sector players announced comprehensive investment plans, including Tofaş, Ford Otosan, Renault and Toyota in Turkey,” he also told reporters. 

“We see the first fruits of these investments in the first half of 2015. Both production and export figures increased significantly. We’ll also see the positive effects of these investments in the second half of the year and even in the first half of 2016,” Önen said.

Figures above global average

“We expect that exports will exceed 925,000 units by the end of the year, much higher than the sector made in 2014. We also expect the production volume to be over 1,225 million units this year, again higher than the 2014 figures,” he said, adding that the sector could see a record high production and export figure in 2015. 

The association figures include automotive, light commercial vehicle and tractor figures. 

The automotive sector reached record-high production levels in 2011 with 1.19 million units, while it reached record-high export levels in 2008 with 910,000 units. 

The association expects to see an increase of around 5 percent both in production and exports in the measurement of units compared to the figures in 2014. 

These figures are above the global average, according to data proposed by Önen based upon the LMC Global Car & Truck Forecast. Global motorized vehicle production rose by 2.7 percent in 2014 from the previous year and further 2.5 percent increase is expected in 2015 from 2014, according to data. 

Some 1.17 million units were produced in Turkey last year. Around 885,000 units were exported, worth around $22.8 billion, while around 807,000 units were sold in the domestic market. 

“Turkey has proved its competitiveness in the global markets … It now needs to maintain its competiveness over the next four to five years … There has been an increase in exports on the euro basis and we do not see any decrease, though we remain cautious,” Önen said, adding that the sector is also closely following developments in Iran as Tehran nears an agreement with world powers over its nuclear program.

The share of the sector in Turkey’s total exports was 17 percent in June this year, the OSD head also stated.