Automotive Exports August 2023

Auto production
rises 13 pct in
first half
Local carmakers increased their production
by 13 percent in January-June from a year
ago to 735,231, according to data from the
Automotive Manufacturers’ Association
(OSD).
The companies manufactured 462,401
passenger cars in the first half of the
year, marking a 21 percent year-on-year
increase.
The annual increase in commercial vehicle
was 2 percent in the first six months to
273,000 units.
Including tractors, the industry’s total
production was 765,282, and the capacity
usage rate in the industry was 74 percent.
Carmakers shipped nearly 506,000 vehicles
to foreign markets in the first half, which
translated into an 8 percent increase
compared with the same period of 2022.
Passenger car exports grew 20 percent to
326,000.
The automotive industry’s export revenues
amounted to $17.7 billion in January-July,
rising 15 percent from a year earlier. In
June alone, export revenues grew 8.8
percent to $3.06 billion.
The automotive industry’s production is
expected to be around 1.5 million vehicles
in 2023, said Cengiz Eroldu, the board chair
of the OSD. Eroldu forecasts 1.1 million
vehicles will be exported this year.
He predicts that more than 1 million
vehicles could be sold on the local market
in 2023, saying that the combined sales
of passenger cars and light commercial
vehicles may exceed 100,000 in July.
In the first six months, more than 581,000
vehicles were sold in the country, up 55
percent from a year ago. The passenger
car market expanded by 54.5 percent to
430,000. In June alone, the industry’s
production fell 12.2 percent year-on-year
to 119,000 vehicles, with passenger car
output down 12.3 percent to 76,000.
Total vehicle sales grew 36 percent
year-on-year, while the annual increase
in passenger car sales was 40 percent to
around 90,000.
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