Turkey's automotive exports hit all-time monthly high, claim 20 pct of overall exports

The automotive industry, which led Turkish exports for the last 12 years, has maintained a continuous upward trend over the last 28 months.

The sector's exports amounted to $2.8 billion in May with an increase of 8 percent compared to the same month of last year, according to the May data of Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters' Association (OİB).

It once again shouldered a one-fifth of Turkey's total exports with a share of almost 20 percent.

Having achieved its highest May figures so far, the sector boosted its exports by 17 percent in the first five months from January to May, reaching $13.9 billion, as it maintained leading position in Turkey's exports.

In terms of product groups, exports of automotive subindustry increased 24 percent to reach $1 billion in May. Automobile exports, however, decreased by 4 percent to $1.05 billion, while exports of light commercial vehicles rose by 9 percent to $471 million. Meanwhile, exports of buses, minibuses and midibuses decreased by 4 percent to $149 million during this period.

Exports to Germany, the largest market in the automotive sub-industry, rose by 23 percent, followed by France with 27 percent, Romania with 47 percent, the U.S. with 49 percent and Russia with 56 percent.

Exports to France, the largest market in automobile exports, rose by 23 percent, followed by the U.K. with 23 percent and the Netherlands with 122 percent, while exports to Germany decreased by 29 percent. It was followed by Italy with 12 percent, Israel with 19 percent and Poland with 36 percent.

U.K. exports, the largest market for light commercial vehicles, fell by 7 percent. Exports in the same product group increased by 37 percent in Italy, 23 percent in France and 26 percent in Germany.In the bus-minibus-midibus product group, exports to Germany - the biggest market for Turkish makers - experienced a 23 percent decrease, followed by France with 26 percent. At the same time, exports to Italy rose by 68 percent. Sales in the U.K. and Spain for this group fell by 35 percent and 184 percent, respectively.

On a country-by-country basis, exports to Germany, the largest market, rose by 5 percent to $423 million, while exports to the second largest market, Italy, stood at $310 million with an increase of 5 percent. Meanwhile, exports to France, the third largest market for Turkey's automotive exports, increased by 16 percent to $308 million. The 23 percent increase in automobiles and 91 percent increase in subindustry exports were also effective in this significant increase in France.

Among other important markets, the Netherlands recorded an increase of 40 percent in exports, followed by Romania with 42 percent and Russia with 94 percent, while exports to the U.S. dropped by 50 percent. The 122 percent increase in automobile and 91 percent increase in subindustry exports were also effective in this significant increase in the Netherlands, while the 294 percent increase in automobile and 56 percent increase in sub-industry exports were reflected on the exports to Russia.

With regards to the decrease in exports to the U.S., on the other hand, a 100 percent drop in automobile exports was the main factor. Exports to the European Union, the largest market in the country group, increased by 10 percent to $2.2 billion. The share of EU countries in total exports was 80 percent in this period. Among the alternative markets, African and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries recorded an increase of 33 percent each, while exports to the Middle Eastern countries dropped by 17 percent in May.