ISTANBUL

Turkish automotive sector exports had a record performance this January-March, as exports in the first five months reached $16.5 billion, according to data from the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) released Wednesday.

Amid disruption over higher US tariffs, Türkiye’s auto exports in January-March rose 10% year-on-year, making up 17.2% of the country’s total exports, the data showed.

Meanwhile, Türkiye’s total exports rose 3.5% on an annual basis over the same period, totaling $110.9 billion.

Total exports in May climbed 2.7% to $834.2 million, according to the exporters group.

Germany received the highest Turkish auto exports in January-May, with $2.6 billion, followed by France with $1.8 billion, the UK with $1.7 billion, Spain with $1.5 billion, Italy with $1.3 billion, Slovenia with $913.1 million, Romania with $601.7 million, and Belgium with $699.8 million.

The biggest increase in export value was in Germany, as auto exports to the country saw a rise of $528.9 million, followed by Spain with $460.8 million, Slovenia with $354.6 million, Romania with $178.1 million, and Belgium with $149.6 million.

In Türkiye, the northwestern province of Kocaeli led the auto sector, accounting for $5.2 billion of exports in the first five months of the year, while Istanbul made up $3.5 billion, the northwestern provinces of Bursa and Sakarya’s auto exports totaled $3.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively, and auto exports from the capital Ankara reached $642.7 million.

Türkiye’s auto and auto supply industries gained momentum with exports during the pandemic period, when global demand declined.

Showing a steady rise, the country’s January-May auto sector exports totaled $13.1 billion in 2019, $8.8 billion in 2020, $12.33 billion in 2021, $12.5 billion in 2022, $14.3 billion in 2023, and $15.1 billion in 2025.