Turkiye’s export locomotive sector, the automotive industry, has been around $6.5 billion since the beginning of the year, and is expected to reach $13 billion by the end of the year.
Albert Saydam, President of the Vehicle Supply Manufacturers Association (TAYSAD), said in a statement he attended at the event in Bursa that the supplier industry, one of the sub-groups of the automotive industry, achieved an export of $11.8 billion last year.
Stating that the share of the supply industry in automotive exports has exceeded 40% , Saydam said, “We have reached an export figure of approximately $6.5 billion in only the first 6 months of this year. This means that we will close the year with $13 billion, an increase of around 10% compared to last year.”
Saydam emphasized that the entire industry should embrace the transformation in electric vehicles in order for this promising increase to be permanent and for the continuity of the success they achieved in the 2020s in the 2030s.
Pointing to the importance of the transformation to electric vehicles, Saydam said, “There are two important investments in battery. As the supply industry, we need to reduce foreign dependency on automotive electronics, software and electric motors. We are happy to see that there are some studies on this subject as well. I hope that we will carry the success of the 2020s, which we have achieved in exports, to the 2030s.”
We see an increase in our exports to North America and South America”
Saydam stated that the biggest market of the Turkish automotive industry is formed by the European Union (EU) countries with exports at the level of 60%.
Saydam said that when the United Kingdom is added, approximately 75% of the exports are made to the European continent.
“The export of the supply industry to the EU is around 55-60%. We export 40% to other geographies. When we look at the last period, we see an increase in our exports in the supply industry, especially to North America and South America. However, I would like to underline that the only way for this to be permanent is to open a warehouse there or make an investment there. Because while we are enjoying the fact that the production in the Far East will shift to Turkiye due to the problems arising from logistics, it would not be correct to predict that we will permanently export to such a distant geography. This leads to the conclusion that we have to invest there.”
Saydam stated that 63 of TAYSAD’s close to 500 members have nearly 160 investments in 43 countries, and that these investments are preliminary signals of the transformation in the automotive industry.
Saydam noted that activities in distant geographies should also be considered as exports, with intellectual property rights belonging to Turkiye, and that these should be increased, and emphasized that only in this way can a permanent competitive advantage be achieved.
Emphasizing the importance of focusing on the world market instead of making a distinction between the domestic and foreign markets, Saydam said, “We should not do business with only the opportunities in one place or the opportunities and possibilities in our country. We should think much broader. This broad thinking will be possible not only in the direction of exporting but also by operating there.”
The decision of the European Parliament and the chip crisis
Albert Saydam made the following assessments about the European Parliament’s support for the legal regulation that prohibits the sales of new gasoline and diesel cars in EU countries from 2035:
“While all the developments point to the contrary, this date is being tried to be brought forward by the lawmakers, especially in Europe. I believe that this decision taken in the last European Parliament will be reviewed and evaluated again. The world is not ready for this right now. Of course, electrification should be a goal, but imposing this, programming before the schedule, creates the negative results we have experienced in the last two years. Then we can come to a situation where we cannot find a new vehicle. Unless the approach changes, the chip crisis could be permanent.
Currently, 1,000 chips are used in the internal combustion engine, while 3,000 chips are used in electric vehicles. If there is already a chip crisis in the current situation and if there is a transition to electric vehicles before the planned investment calendars, then this crisis will no longer be a crisis, it will become a part of our agenda or daily life. If the right steps are taken, the calendar may be shortened, the (chip crisis) may end by the end of 2022.”
Source: Trthaber / Translated by Irem Yildiz