Turkey’s motor vehicle manufacturing and exports recorded significant year-on-year declines in the first five months of 2020, with production down 34 percent and exports 38 percent over same period last year, according to a report by the state-run Anadolu news agency on Monday.
Anadolu cited figures provided by the Automotive Manufacturers’ Association (OSD), which put manufacturing and exports 415,454 and 331,391 units, respectively. The numbers excluded tractors.
The downturn was largely attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey as well as in Europe, which is Turkey’s main export market.
Auto industry manufacturing facilities operated at an average of 50 percent capacity between January and May. After a nearly complete halt in April, all companies resumed operations in May, the report said.
The automotive industry represented 14 percent of all exports in the first five months of the year, ranking first among all sectors.
