Turkish Automotive
Türkiye’s automotive industry dates back to the early 1960s. In an era of rapid industrialization and progress, this critical area has transformed from an assembly-based partnership to a mature industry with design and mass production capabilities. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have invested more than $16 billion in Türkiye’s operations since 2003. These investments have significantly expanded their manufacturing capabilities, which in turn have made Türkiye an essential part of the international OEM global value chain. Today, the Turkish automotive industry meets and exceeds international quality and safety standards and is highly efficient and competitive due to value-added production.
As part of his commitment to transforming the automotive industry, which has historically been a key economic driver of Turkey’s integration into global value chains, and his vision to make Türkiye an economic powerhouse, Türkiye has spawned its own locally developed electric vehicle vehicles, based on the country’s long-term technological strength in the field.
Accordingly, Türkiye’s Automobile Joint Venture Group, known as TOGG, will produce five models on a common platform with fully-owned intellectual and industrial property rights by 2030. The first of these Turkish vehicles is expected to hit the market in 2022.
- Leveraging a competitive and highly-skilled workforce combined with a dynamic local market and favourable geographical location, the vehicle production of 8 global OEMs in Türkiye has increased by almost five times, from 300,000s in 2002 to over 1.3 million units in 2021. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 6 per cent during that period.
- Significant growth posted by Türkiye’s automotive sector led to the country’s becoming the 14th largest automotive manufacturer in the world and 4th largest in Europe by the end of 2021.
- Türkiye has already become a centre of excellence, particularly with respect to the production of commercial vehicles. By the end of 2021, Türkiye was the number two producer of commercial vehicles (CVs) in Europe.
- Proven as a production hub of excellence, the Turkish automotive industry is now aiming at improving its R&D, design, and branding capabilities. As of 2022, 191 R&D and design centres belonging to automotive manufacturers and suppliers are operational in Türkiye.
- Notable examples of global brands with product development, design, and engineering activities in Türkiye include Ford, Fiat, Daimler, AVL, and FEV. Ford Otosan’s R&D centre is one of Ford’s three largest global R&D centres, while Fiat’s R&D centre in Bursa is the Italian company’s only centre serving the European market outside its home country. Meanwhile, Daimler’s R&D centre in Istanbul complements the German company’s truck and bus manufacturing operations in Türkiye. AVL Türkiye, which opened up its 2nd R&D centre in Türkiye, develops autonomous and hybrid vehicle technologies.
- Türkiye offers a supportive environment on the supply chain side. There are around 1,100 component suppliers supporting the production of OEMs. With the parts going directly to the production lines of vehicle manufacturers, the localization rate of OEMs varies between 50 and 70 per cent.
- Türkiye is home to many global suppliers. There are more than 250 international suppliers that use Türkiye as a production base, with 30 of them ranking among the 50 largest global suppliers.
- Auto manufacturers increasingly choose Türkiye as a production base for their export sales. This is evidenced by the fact that 74 per cent of vehicle production in Türkiye was destined for international markets in 2021. Türkiye exported more than 970,000 vehicles to international markets in the same year. In addition, Türkiye has been the number one vehicle exporter to European markets for around a decade.
