Data compiled by the Automotive Exporters’ Union (OİB) show that the Turkish auto sector enjoyed a 42.2 percent increase in exports in the first three months of this year over the same months of 2009. The sector sustained a 53.8 percent drop in exports in the first quarter of 2009 as compared to the January-March period of a year before. The auto industry saw a crippling 32.9 percent drop in exports in 2009 over 2008. This fall represented a $7.5 billion loss in exports over 2008, when the figures reached a historic high of $22.94 billion.
Amid serious troubles of a financial crisis in 2001, the automotive industry accelerated efforts to branch out into alternative export markets. The sector maintained an impressive performance in exports between 2002 and 2009. It, however, had to cut back following the emergence of a global financial crisis last year which adversely affected Turkey’s traditional export markets such as Europe. The initial indicators of an impending crisis began to appear in October 2008.
Chinese Geely eyes increased market share in Turkey
Chinese carmaker Geely aims to increase its market share in Turkey following the end of its first year in the country’s market.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency in Antalya on Wednesday, Ayhan Apak, sales manager at Anadolu Holding, Geely’s partner in Turkey, said they sold 1,500 cars in Turkey over the past year and expect a better performance this year. Noting that they anticipate the total sales in the Turkish auto market could reach 600,000 in 2010, he said Geely has set its eyes on a “favorable piece of the pie.”
