Domestic automotive exports to US soar 101 pct in first 9 months of 2017

EXPORTS by the Turkish automotive industry to the U.S. saw a 101.18 percent increase in the first nine months of the year. The sector’s exports to the U.S. amounted to $480.8 million from January to September last year, jumping to $967.2 million in the same period this year. The steep increase in the U.S. market made it the sixth-largest automotive market for Turkish exports, which formerly ranked 10th.

According to data compiled by the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB), automotive industry exports to 180 countries and autonomous regions in five countries as well as 12 free trade zones.

In the first nine months of this year, automotive exports totaled $20.7 billion, and $16.1 billion of it was generated from exports to European Union countries. Ac- counting for 77.7 percent of total automotive exports, 27 EU member countries preserved their dominance in the export market. Exports to the remaining 153 countries amounted to $4.6 billion.

The automotive industry’s sales to Germany saw a 13.7 percent increase in the first nine months of the year to $3.2 billion, making the country the top market.

Germany was followed by Italy, where automotive exports rose 21.08 percent and generated revenue of $2.3 billion. France saw a 19.75 rise in automotive imports from Turkey, which amounted to $2.2 billion. The U.K. and Spain were other major markets for the domestic automotive industry with a 26.31 and 26.32 percent increase, respectively, valued at $2.8 billion and $1.2 billion.

While nine of the 10 countries that are major export markets for the automotive industry were EU countries, the exception was the U.S. Accordingly, the U.S. became the sixth largest market for Turkish automotive exports.

OİB Chairman Orhan Sabuncu said that the EU has always been the most prominent market for Turkey’s automotive exports. He explained that 78 percent of exports from January to September were sales to the EU market. “Every $78 out of $100 in automotive exports came from the EU, and nine of the top-10 export markets were EU countries. The sector’s sales to the union saw a 20 percent increase in the first nine months and totaled $16.1 billion,” Sabuncu said.

Sabuncu said this rise in exports to one of the most important centers of global automotive production has pleased the industry.