Turkish automotive sector thrives in 2024 exports as global industry faces setbacks

In 2024, Türkiye’s automotive industry marked a significant milestone, contributing $37.12 billion to the country’s record-breaking $262 billion in exports, a 6.3% year-on-year increase.

Despite a global downturn in the sector, Türkiye’s automotive industry emerged as the nation’s top exporter for the 18th time in 19 years. In December alone, exports surged by 10% to $3.5 billion, the second-highest monthly export figure in the sector’s history.

According to data from the Uludag Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OIB), automotive exports in December 2024 reached $3.487 billion, a 10% rise compared to the same period the previous year, marking a historic achievement on a monthly basis.

Record growth despite global challenges

OIB Chairman Baran Celik highlighted the resilience of Türkiye’s automotive sector in the face of a global contraction that deeply affected the industry, “Despite these challenges, we maintained our leadership in Türkiye’s exports for 2024,” Celik said.

Key highlights include:

• Passenger cars represented the largest export category, with a 19% increase in December, reaching $1.307 billion.
• Significant growth in major markets:
  • Slovenia: +412%
  • Belgium: +232%
  • Germany: +27%
  • Italy: +26%
  • France: +25%

Germany: Türkiye’s largest automotive export market in 2024

Germany remained Türkiye’s largest automotive market in 2024, with $4.856 billion in exports, followed by France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Poland, Slovenia, Belgium, the U.S., and Romania.

Other notable performances include respectively:

• Romania: +33.5%
• Slovenia: +33%
• UK: +25%
• US: +19%
• Italy: +9.5%

However, exports to some markets declined:

• Sweden: -21%
• Russia: -16%

For December 2024:

• France was the leading market with $513 million in exports (+26% year-on-year).
• Germany followed with $432 million (+14%).
• Italy recorded $338 million (+2%).
• Additional notable increases in December were recorded as follows:

• Slovenia: +106%
• United States: +54%
• Morocco: +34%
• Belgium: +31%
• Romania: +20%

Decreases were observed in:

• Russia: -54%
• Portugal: -21%