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Rays of recovery - Turkish automotive industry gives positive signals

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According to the monthly report released by Turkish Automotive Manufacturers Association in May 2009, vehicle sales in Turkey rose by 25.66% YoY to 64,874. In April 2009, yearly change in vehicle sales was 6.79% compared to April 2008. Meanwhile, total vehicle exports in May 2009, amounted 51,413, decreasing by 45.7% compared to the same month of the previous year. The vehicle imports in the period in question increased by 16.8% YoY to 34,629.

In the January to May period of the current year, vehicle production totaled 305,240, decreasing by 48.8% compared to the first 5 months of the previous year, while vehicle sales in the period in question amounted 219,308, down 5.2% YoY. In the first 5 months of 2009, vehicle exports reached to 218,086, down 52.9% and vehicle imports totaled 125,931, decreasing by 3.6, all compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

On March 16th 2009, Turkish government has reduced the Special Consumption Tax in the automotive sector from 37% to 18% for passenger cars, from 10% to 1% for the commercial cars and from 4% to 1% for the trucks and busses for three months starting from March 15, to boost the sales of the automotive industry, which is heavily affected by the global economic downturn. Automotive experts states that the tax reduction greatly helped clearing out the inventories.

On June 4th 2009, Mr Tayyip Erdogan PM of Turkish said that the government will support the new investment projects in automotive industry that costs higher than TRL 250,000 to enable the production of new models and to maintain the domestic industry as a dominant exporter in the region.

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