Automotive Exports July 2018

Monthly automotive aftermarket magazine
American Varroc Lighting acquires
Turkish automotive firm
Exterior vehicle lighting specialist
U.S.-based Varroc Lighting Sytems
has acquired Istanbul-based
Sa-ba Automotive, a statement
confirmed.
"Through Sa-ba Automotive,
Varroc Lighting gains valuable
manufacturing and production
capacity with a 10,000-squaremeter
manufacturing and
technology center near
Istanbul, and a new plant under
construction in Dimitrovgrad,
Bulgaria," the statement said.
The terms and conditions of the
acquisition, however, were not
disclosed.
It also noted that the
20,000-square-meter Bulgaria
plant will give Varroc Lighting
expanded and scalable
production capacity for its
European customers.
"This acquisition further
underscores our commitment to
a global footprint that provides
our customers with cost-effective
and high-quality lighting products
and technology," said Stephane
Vedie, president and CEO of
Varroc Lighting Systems.
"Turkey is a growing market,
and our presence there helps
us expand the services we
can provide to our growing
customer base, while substantially
increasing our capabilities in small
lighting."
In the statement, Varroc Lighting
said that the acquisition was the
sixth business initiative in the past
16 months that directly support
the expansion of its global product
portfolio and manufacturing and
engineering footprint.
It also noted its manufacturing and
product development facilities
based in Morocco, Brazil, Japan,
and Poland. It recently opened an
expanded Lighting Development
Center in Ostrava, Czech Republic
while expanding manufacturing
capabilities in Vietnam.
With the acquisition of the
Istanbul-based company, Varroc
Lighting now has a global
presence in 17 countries across
five continents.
Auto market aims over $30B for
exports in 2018
Turkey's automotive industry
exports will exceed $30 billion
in 2018, the CEO of the Uludağ
Automotive Industry Exporters'
Association (OİB) said.
"We had aimed for $29 billion [of
exports] in 2018. If we look at the
data for the first half of the year,
we reached an export level of
$16.4 billion.
"This shows us that we will exceed
far beyond our aim. We will
exceed over $30 billion," Baran
Çelik said.
Çelik said $16.4 billion of exports
in 2018 were an "all-time record"
for the first half of a year.
He said Turkish automotive
sector's exports reached $28.5
billion in 2017, adding that the
sector will break a record in 2018.
According to the Turkish Exporters'
Assembly (TİM), automotive was
the leading sector with $2.5
billion exports in June. The sector's
exports increased by 1.9 percent
compared to the same month the
previous year.
36 JULY 2018