Turkey: brisk export boosts 2010 production to 1.09 mn units, and domestic sales reach record 790 K

Ford spends 860 mn dollars to refurbish its plant, while Chery Motors builds a new plant to produce

2011/05/26

Summary
Production capacities of thirteen OEMs total 1.58 mn units
Tofas (Fiat) to produce Doblo EVs from the middle of 2011 and to supply Turkish-made vehicles to Opel on an OEM basis
Renault to produce the Fluence EV from September 2011
Ford to spend 860 mn dollars to refurbish production facilities for the Transit
Toyota and Honda reduce production even at their Turkish Plants as a consequence of the Great East J
Hyundai transfers production of the small hatchback i20 from India in June 2010
Turkish domestic manufacturers: Karsan starts production of busses for an Italian OEM, while BMC to double the annual production capacity
Heavy commercial vehicle OEMs: Mercedes-Benz enjoys brisk sales of Actros, while MAN updates production facilities for busses
Chinese OEMs: Chery to start the new plant in 2012, while Geely considers local production
Turkish Gov. unveils 2011-2014 automotive industry policies
Turkish domestic sales volume: Ford, Renault and Fiat make the top three

Summary

The 2010 production volume in Turkey was 1.095 million units, up by 25.9% over the previous year. Turkey has surpassed the Czech Republic (1.033 million units) and Poland (1.009 million units), and become the largest automotive producer among European countries except the advanced nations of Western Europe. Some 70% of production volume is exported mainly to Western European countries. Exports recovered to 750 K units in 2010 from a declining trend after the economic crisis (910 K in 2008 and 630 K in 2009), which boosted the country's production volume.

New vehicle sales in Turkey jumped to 793 K units in 2010, up by 37.7% over the previous year, which refreshed the 2005 record of 759 K units. Imports accounting for around 60% of new vehicle sales also hit a new high to 465 K units in 2010, up by 48.3%.

OEMs consider Turkey not only as a promising market but also as a highly potential export center. They are refurbishing their existing factories in Turkey and adding vehicle types to their production. Chinese Chery Motors will run the new plant with an annual production capacity of 20 K units in 2012, aiming for a capacity of 100 K units in 2017.

Turkey: Production volume, exports and imports, and new vehicle sales

(Units)

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	Jan.-Mar. 2010	Jan.-Mar. 2011
Production	987,580	1,099,414	1,147,110	869,605	1,094,557	257,623	304,414
Export	696,688	820,370	910,261	628,970	754,469	203,472	213,503
New car sales	665,515	634,206	526,544	575,869	793,172	107,191	192,488
Import	382,460	355,752	306,087	313,921	465,408	63,097	115,965
Export/Production	70.5%	74.6%	79.4%	72.3%	68.9%	79.0%	70.1%
Import/Sales	57.5%	56.1%	58.1%	54.5%	58.7%	58.9%	60.2%