Automotive sector driving force behind Türkiye’s exports

Despite an annual decline in revenues, the automotive industry once again topped the list of Türkiye's largest exporting sectors with shipments to foreign markets amounting to $2.6 billion in June.

The automotive sector's exports, which plunged 12.4 percent last month from a year ago, accounted for 14.1 percent of the country's export revenues.

From January to June, local carmakers generated $17.7 billion in export revenue, marking a 2.3 percent increase compared with the same period of 2023.

The 12-month trailing export revenue of the industry was $35.4 billion, according to the latest data from the Türkiye Exporters' Assembly (TİM).

The local auto market has been experiencing weak demand this year compared with 2023. The combined sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles declined for a third month in a row in June on an annual basis.

The market shrank 5.3 percent year-on-year in June with total sales amounting to 106,000 units. Sales fell 10.1 percent in the previous month and declined 22.3 percent in March.

Automotive is one of the key industries in Türkiye, employing tens of thousands of people. Several carmakers entered the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce's (İSO) top 500 industrial enterprises list.

Ford Otomotiv ranked second on the list with production-based sales at 238 billion Turkish Liras in 2023, while Totoya Otomotiv claimed the fifth spot at 127.5 billion liras. Oyak Renault and Mercedes-Benz Türkiye ranked sixth and eighth at 107 billion liras and 94 billion liras, respectively.

After automotive, the chemicals sector was the second largest exporting industry with a 12 percent share in Türkiye's overall export revenue.

Chemical exports were down 6.5 percent in June to $2.23...