A record was broken in automotive exports.

The automotive industry reached an export value of 26 billion 933 million 806 thousand dollars in the January-September 2024 period, marking a 5.3% increase compared to the same period last year, achieving the highest 9-month export figure in the sector's history. Recently, the increase in export figures in Turkey, which has become a main route for global automotive manufacturers due to its proximity to the European market and labor potential, has drawn attention.

AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS INCREASED BY 5.3% IN 9 MONTHS

According to data compiled from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), Turkey's exports in the January-September period increased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year, reaching 192 billion 808 million 449 thousand dollars. Turkey's automotive exports increased by 5.3% in the January-September 2024 period compared to the same period last year, amounting to 26 billion 933 million 806 thousand dollars. In September, the sector's exports also rose by 20.9% compared to the same period last year, reaching 3 billion 406 million 665 thousand dollars. The share of the automotive industry's exports in total exports during the January-September period was calculated to be 16.2%. When looking at the export figures of the automotive sector's sub-groups, exports included 181.6 million dollars for other vehicles in the automotive industry, 7.4 million dollars for mineral fuels, mineral oils, and products, 15.7 billion dollars for the main automotive industry, 11 billion dollars for the automotive sub-industry, and 25.2 million dollars for defense and aerospace industry exports.

THE MOST EXPORTS TO GERMANY

The highest exports in the automotive industry were made to Germany, amounting to 3.6 billion dollars, followed by the United Kingdom with 3.2 billion dollars, France with 3 billion dollars, Italy with 2.5 billion dollars, and Spain with 1.8 billion dollars.

The United Kingdom ranked first in export growth. In the January-September period, the automotive sector's exports to the country increased by 796.7 million dollars. Following the UK in export growth were Romania with 220.4 million dollars, Italy with 220 million dollars, Slovenia with 212.9 million dollars, and the USA with 125.6 million dollars. The automotive industry exported 1.2 billion dollars to Slovenia, 886 million dollars to the USA, and 819.7 million dollars to Romania.

Kocaeli BECAME THE EXPORT CHAMPION

When looking at the provincial basis, Kocaeli had the highest exports in the automotive sector with 6.9 billion dollars in the first 9 months of the year. During this period, exports from Istanbul amounted to 6.1 billion dollars, from Bursa 5.3 billion dollars, from Sakarya 4.1 billion dollars, and from Ankara 1.1 billion dollars.

AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS RETURNED TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS

After declining in 2019 and 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic, automotive exports showed a rapid recovery with the start of the normalization process worldwide. In the January-September period of 2019, automotive exports were 22.5 billion dollars, reflecting a 3.7% decrease compared to the same period the previous year. In the 9-month period of 2020, it also decreased by 24% to 17.1 billion dollars. The sector's exports then recovered, reaching 21.2 billion dollars in the same period of 2021, marking a 24% increase. In the January-September period of 2022, when the effects of the pandemic were felt less than in previous years, automotive exports increased by 5.1% to 22.3 billion dollars, and in the same period of 2023, it rose by 14.8% to 25.6 billion dollars. This year, it also showed a 5.3% increase, rising to 26 billion 933 million 806 thousand dollars. According to TİM data, the export figures of the automotive industry for this year and last year in the January-September period are as follows: