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Entwicklung und Aussichten für den türkischen Automotivemarkt

 

Global Success Club bat ISPAT – die Agentur für Wirtschafts- und Investitionsförderung der Türkei, um Informationen aus erster Hand zum türkischen Automotive Markt und dessen Aussichten.

The importance of automotive industry for Turkey
Having a history of more than 50 years, automotive industry in Turkey has started as assembly operation in the beginning 1960. After five decades the industry has not become only a production base of many international OEMs but also an engineering hub. Today with its high added value and employment creation combined with the contribution to the tax revenues and balance of payments, Turkey's automotive sector is one of the key sectors that propel the country's successful economy.

Automotive today is one of the main drivers of manufacturing industry in Turkey: Creating work places for more than 400,000 people automotive industry is today one of the main employers of the country. It is also the export champion with a share of 16 % in total export. 3 out of 5 top exporters are coming from automotive industry.

Also automotive sector is playing a vital role in transferring know-how and high tech production capabilities to Turkey. 50 out of 137 R&D centers are set up by the companies in automotive industry. The trained labor force it employs to utilize the technology is crucial to the country's other strategically important sectors. More than one third of the R&D personal in Turkey is working in automotive sector.

Therefore, further developing and increasing the competitiveness level of the sector is of utmost importance for the Turkish economy's sustained growth.

Official Strategy for a more competitive automotive industry

That is why Turkish government has published an official automotive sector strategy certificate in February 2011 that will shape the future of the industry in Turkey. "Enhancement of sustainable global competitive strength of automotive sector and its transformation into a structure weightedly using advance technology and generating high added value" is designated as general objective in the document. The certificate also defines the actions to ensure the achievement of this general objective.  One of the key parts of this official startegy is surely the production of a local car for which the investigations have already started. In the comign years Turkey will be one of the countries havign its own brand.

The actions are aiming the improvement of R&D, design and branding capabilities  of companies, as well as the improvement of legal and administrative systems and physical infrastructure.  With this certificate Turkey is not only preparing itself to the hard global competion of the coming years but also showing its comitmnet to the sector on a very high level.  Defitinetly the investor will feel this commitment durign their operations in Turkey.

Current production capability of industry

The product portfolio of automotive manufacturers in Turkey covers a range of vehicles from sedans to heavy trucks. Using the advantageous of its a low-cost/highly skilled workforce, dynamic local market and geographical location Turkey has been able to increase its vehicle production from 374,000 in 2002 to over 1,073,000 vehicles in 2012. On average the vehicle production grew by 11 % annually in the same period of time.

With this performance of the industry Turkey has become the 16th largest motor vehicle manufacturer in world. Especially for the production of commercial vehicles Turkey has already become a center of excellence. By the end of 2012 Turkey was ranked as the largest light commercial vehicle producer of Europa.

Auto manufacturers have been increasingly using Turkey as a production base to target export sales. Around 70 % production in Turkey is made for the foreign markets. In 2012 more than 729,000 cars are exported from Turkey to different markets. While Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Romania and the USA are the leading export customers of Turkish automotive industry, there is a trend of diversification in export destinations with companies looking to nearby emerging market countries where there is considerably more demand potential for new auto sales than in developed.

Dynamic local market with lucrative future perspective

Turkey's strength in the auto industry has been built on its robust domestic demand, which has driven investment in the industry by major international auto manufacturers. Backed with the country's strong economic performance car sales has shown a robust growth in the last years.  Between 2003 and 2012, the Turkish automotive market grew on average by 12% (CAGR).

In 2012 vehicle sales reached 837,000 units. Turkey was the 5th largest automotive market as compared with the EU by the end of 2012.  Despite these sales figures, car penetration in Turkey which is 165 car per 1000 is still well behind the European average of 500. This on the side means further opportunities for the car makers. An increasing purchasing power backed with this low automobile ownership rate will boost the sales of automobiles in the coming years.

Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT) as one stop shop for international investors

Within this picture agency has also developed its own strategy for the automotive sector which is in line with the strategy document of Turkish government. The ultimate goal of the agency is to attract the investment that would contribute to the competitiveness of industry in the global competition. Having in mind this goal, ISPAT is approaching selected global OEMs and suppliers to create awareness how Turkey can contribute their competitiveness: Given that cost, talent and proximity to demand markets are the key factors effecting the competitiveness of a company, Turkey with its long production experience in automotive industry accompanied with its engineering skills and reasonable demographic structure as well as geographical location enabling easy access to emerging markets nearby Turkey does offer the one of the best conditions to invest. Recently companies like CRH, MUBEA, ThyssenKrupp (expansion), Cummings have invested in Turkey not only to produce for local OEMs but also for export markets.

Not last but least, the agency, directly attached to Prime Ministry of Turkey is serving international investor with a one-stop shop mind. From market research to land search, agency is giving the services that an investor would need before, during and after its investment.