Turkish automotive sector hits record $34B in exports in 10 months

Türkiye’s automotive industry achieved a new best January-October export performance as sales reached $34 billion, according to a report on Tuesday. With a steady momentum in shipments, the domestic automotive industry, a longtime leader in exports, marked its highest 10-month performance of all time despite global uncertainties and rising protectionism. While global markets closely follow whether the U.S. will reach agreements with other countries on trade policies, Türkiye’s automotive sector stood out with its strong performance during the first 10 months of the year. U.S. protectionist customs tariffs continue to pose challenges for global trade by weakening countries’ positions in commerce. Amid growing economic concerns and reevaluation of international relations, Türkiye has succeeded in maintaining a prominent global position both in finished vehicle production and automotive supply manufacturing. The automotive industry, which achieved $34 billion in exports in the first 10 months of the year, broke records for the third consecutive year, further strengthening its leadership in exports, a report by Anadolu Agency (AA) said. Looking at export data, automotive exports stood at $30.5 billion in 2024, $28.7 billion in 2023 and $25 billion in 2022, covering the same period. In 2021 and 2020, when the global economy was still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, automotive exports stood at $23.9 billion and $20.1 billion, respectively, for the January-October period. The industry’s exports amounted to $25.4 billion in 2019 and $26.3 billion in 2018. Automotive accounts for 17.5% of total exports Türkiye’s overall exports rose 3.9% year-over-year to reach $224.6 billion in the first 10 months of the year, according to data from the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM). In October alone, exports surged 2.2%, reaching $24 billion. At the same time, the automotive exports rose 11.6% year-over-year to $34 billion, accounting for 17.5% of Türkiye’s total exports. Germany remains top destination During the first 10 months of the year, Germany was Türkiye’s largest automotive export market with $5.6 billion, followed by France ($3.9 billion), the United Kingdom ($3.4 billion), Spain ($2.9 billion) and Italy ($2.7 billion). In terms of export growth by value, Germany again ranked first. Automotive exports to Germany increased by $1.5 billion, followed by Spain ($843.2 million), Slovenia ($470.5 million), France ($449.4 million) and Romania ($315.9 million). Kocaeli leads in provincial exports By province, northwestern Kocaeli province ranked first in automotive exports with $10.1 billion during the January-October period. It was followed by Bursa ($7.4 billion), Istanbul ($7.2 billion), Sakarya ($4 billion) and Ankara ($1.4 billion).