Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at December 1st, 2008

The Turkish automotive industry is expecting to see a contraction in sales of 10-15 percent this year compared to 2007, but is confident that this tightening of the market will not happen if banks loosen their grip on extending vehicle loans and make the conditions for loan arrangements easier.

The chairman of the Automobile Distributors Association (ODD), İbrahim Aybar, said things would get worse in the automotive sector unless a solution to the effects of the global financial crisis is found shortly. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 29th, 2008

Turkish automotive market sales are expected to shrink 20 percent next year in response to the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, the head of a Turkish automotive association said on Friday.

Turkey’s car industry, which has grown dramatically since a 2001 financial crisis, has not been spared the dramatic global downturn and easing access to credit is crucial in keeping the wheels of industry turning, said Ibrahim Aybar, chairman of the Turkish Automotive Distributors’ Association.

“The issue is how we can keep the domestic market alive. The first thing will be easing credit facilities and secondly some supportive actions,” Aybar said on the sidelines of an automotive conference in Istanbul. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 12th, 2008

Hurt by the global crisis, the Turkish heavy vehicle industry, which constitutes the backbone of land transportation sales, has declined 7.2 percent during the first seven months of the year.

Production and sales of tow trucks over 16 tons, trailers and four-axle trucks have been hit hard by the global crisis, which started in the United States and then spread to Europe, said Çetin Nuhoğlu, head of Tirsan, one of Europe’s leading firms in truck, trailer, refrigerated semi-trailer and chassis production.

Particularly due to an increase in diesel prices in recent years, Europe’s heavy vehicle market shrunk 25 percent, Nuhoğlu said. “Sales in Turkey declined approximately 30 percent over the period. During the first seven months of this year, sales dropped 7.2 percent compared to the corresponding period of last year. We are on a very bad track. I am very anxious about the future.” (more…)

Posted by meb at August 7th, 2008

Sales of passengers cars and light commercial vehicles in Turkey shrank by 11.2 percent year-on-year in July to 42,156 units, the Automotive Distributors’ Association said on Thursday.

Turkish automotive sales drop 11.2 pct in July.

Passenger car sales fell 9.6 percent and light commercial vehicle sales dropped 13.6 percent during July.

In the first seven months of the year, total industry sales rose 8.7 percent to 305,206 units, sustaining strong growth in the sector which has made it a key element of Turkey’s industry and export base in recent years. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 11th, 2008

Despite its high performance, especially in exports, Turkey’s automotive sector is unsettled about the debate on the added value the sector creates.

Responding to claims that the sector is overly dependent on imported goods, representatives of the sector highlighted automotive’s successes yesterday.

“Some say the automotive sector creates 10 percent added value, but this is a miscalculation. If it were true, we would not be able to compete in the global market,” said Erkut Özerman, chairman of Uludağ Automotive And Sub Industry Products Exporters’ Union (UTAYSİB) at the press meeting by the Automotive Industry Promotion Committee (OETK) in Istanbul. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 6th, 2008

The rapidly growing Turkish automotive industry will need an additional 100,000 workers in the short term, 500,000 workers in the long term and 50,000 skilled workers in the near term, the head of the Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers (TAYSAD) has said.

In an interview with the Anatolia news agency yesterday, TAYSAD Chairman Ömer Burhanoğlu said the planned investments in the sector include $3.5 billion for capacity building, $2 billion for technological upgrades and $3.5 billion for new models. With these investments Burhanoğlu said investors in Turkey’s auto sector aim to increase annual auto production to 2 million by 2013 and to make $40 billion worth of exports. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 23rd, 2008

Turkey is growing as an export base for automotive manufacturers and auto-related sub-industries because of its strategic market location, industry incentives, low cost, abundance of skilled labor, customs union with the EU and high technology and know-how.

Emerging from a financial crisis in 2001, Turkey has successfully transformed itself into a highly competitive economy, attracting a sizable portion of foreign investment in the auto sector. Today, industrial goods account for more than 90 percent of Turkey’s exports, with automobiles the most-sold item in this category. Seeing Turkey as a gateway to European and Asian markets, the world’s leading auto manufacturers are increasingly opting to use Turkey as a base of operations to gain access to wider markets while expanding their sales figures in the domestic market. All indications show Turkey is on its way to becoming a global automotive hub.

Turkey’s automotive exports & imports (in billion US dollars)
YEAR EXPORT IMPORT
2008 5,3 3,3
2007 15,9 12,4
2006 11,9 11,4
2005 9,6 10,6
2004 8,3 10,2
2003 5,3 5,4
2002 3,3 2,3
2001 2,3 1,8
(more…)