Automotive Industry Association (OSD) announced the production and export numbers and market data for the January-September period. Accordingly, in the first nine months of the year, total automotive production increased by 8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year and amounted to 921 thousand 619 units, while automobile production decreased by 1 percent to 571 thousand 108 units.
Together with the tractor production, the total production was 962 thousand 829 units. During this period, the capacity utilization rate of the automotive industry was 63 percent. On the basis of vehicle group, capacity utilization rates were 62 percent in light vehicles (cars + light commercial vehicles), 56 percent in heavy commercial vehicles, and 73 percent in tractors.
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582 thousand vehicles were sold in nine months
In the period covering the first nine months of the year, the total market increased by 15 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to 582 thousand 83 units. In this period, the automobile market also increased by 12 percent and reached 434 thousand 800 units. Considering the averages of the last 10 years, the total market increased by 4 percent and the automobile market by 7 percent, while the heavy commercial vehicle market and light commercial vehicle market contracted by 3 percent and 5 percent in the January-September period.
In this period, the share of domestic vehicles in automobile sales was 40 percent, while the share of domestic vehicles in the light commercial vehicle market was 53 percent.
Commercial vehicle production increased by 26 percent
In the January-September period, commercial vehicle production increased by 26 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. In this period, while production in the heavy commercial vehicle group increased by 38 percent, the production in the light commercial vehicle group increased by 25 percent. In the first nine months of the year, the total commercial vehicle production was 350 thousand 511 units.
Looking at the market, the commercial vehicle market increased by 23 percent, the light commercial vehicle market by 18 percent and the heavy commercial vehicle market by 63 percent in the January-September period compared to the same period of the previous year. When the base effect is taken into account, the truck market shrank by 28 percent and the bus-midibus market by 66 percent compared to 2015.
Automotive exports increased, while automobile exports decreased
In the January-September period, total automotive exports increased by 9 percent on unit basis compared to the same period of the previous year, and amounted to 671 thousand 674 units.
Automobile exports decreased by 4 percent to 401 thousand 437 units. According to the data of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), automotive industry exports maintained its first place with a share of 13.2 percent in total exports in the January-September period.
Exports amounted to 27.7 billion dollars in January-September
In the January-September period, compared to the same period of the previous year, total automotive exports increased by 25 percent in dollar terms and 17 percent in euro terms. In this period, total automotive exports amounted to 21.7 billion dollars, while automobile exports increased by 6 percent to 6.6 billion dollars.
On a Euro basis, automobile exports increased by 1 percent to 5.5 billion Euros. In the first nine months of the year, exports of the main industry increased by 18 percent in dollar terms, while exports of the supply industry increased by 35 percent.