In the first quarter of this year, total automotive production increased by 21% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 366 thousand 597, while automobile production increased by 34% to 222 thousand 51 units.
Automotive Industry Association (OSD), which is the umbrella organization of the sector with its 13 members that steer the Turkish automotive industry, has announced the production and export data for the January-March 2023 period.
Accordingly, total automotive production in the first quarter of the year increased by 21% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 366 thousand 597 units. Automobile production, on the other hand, increased by 34% to 222 thousand 51. Together with the tractor production, the total production reached 382 thousand 504 units.
Increase in capacity utilization rates
In the first quarter of the year, commercial vehicle production increased by 6% compared to the same period of the previous year. In this period, production in the heavy commercial vehicle group increased by 19%, while the production in the light commercial vehicle group increased by 5%. The capacity utilization rate of the automotive industry was 74%.
On the basis of vehicle group, capacity utilization rates were determined as 74% in light vehicles (cars + light commercial vehicles), 90% in the truck group, 43% in the bus-midibus group and 83% in the tractor.
Exports increased by 17% and reached $8.8 billion
In the first three months of the year, total automotive exports increased by 13% on unit basis compared to the same period of the previous year, and reached 253,828 units. In this period, automobile exports increased by 26% compared to the same period of the previous year, while commercial vehicle exports decreased by 4%. Tractor exports, on the other hand, increased by 11% compared to the same period of 2022 and amounted to 5 thousand 229 units.
“We closed the first quarter with extremely positive figures”
OSD Chairman of the Board Cengiz Eroldu, whose evaluation of the results was included in the statement, said:
“We closed the first quarter with extremely positive figures. We can say that this is the case for both exports and the domestic market. We have very strong results on both sides. Compared to last year, our production reached the level of 367 thousand units with an increase of 21% in the first three months. In the same parallel, capacity utilization increased from 63% to 74%. Export-domestic market both move in the direction of increase. We have a 13% increase in exports in terms of units. In terms of amount, we achieved the export figures of $8.8 billion in the first three months, with an increase of 17%.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz