TURKEY’S VEHICLE INDUSTRY MARKET REPORT

Production

Vehicle industry production in Turkey dates back to the mid-1950s and the industry gained 

momentum in the early 1960s. After manufacturing some prototype vehicles during the 

1950s, the first vehicle assembly company was established in 1954 (Turk Willys Overland 

Ltd.) for jeep manufacturing. By 1955, trucks, and by 1963, buses were being assembled 

in Turkey. Then passenger car assembly companies, namely TOFAŞ (FIAT), OYAK 

(RENAULT) and OTOSAN (FORD) began operations in the next three years. In 1966, the 

industry also began to assemble its own cars (OTOSAN). The Turkish-made passenger 

car of those times, “ANADOL”, is nostalgia now. The two major producers of cars, TOFAŞ 

and OYAK-RENAULT, under Italian and French licenses respectively, established their 

production lines in 1971. Recently, Japanese and South Korean car manufacturers have 

established joint-ventures in Turkey. In 1999, Turkish truck manufacturer BMC began to

 export its own design trucks to the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal. As to passenger

cars and light commercial vehicles, Turkish manufacturers are becoming world production

centers of global companies, with whom they have license agreements.

At present, Turkey is the biggest light commercial vehicle and bus manufacturer in the European Union.

Today, 13 companies are manufacturing various types of vehicles such as passenger

cars, buses, trucks, pick-ups, mini and midi-buses and trailers. Five companies are

producing passenger cars (FIAT, HONDA, HYUNDAI, RENAULT, TOYOTA), ten

companies are producing pick-ups and trucks (ANADOLU ISUZU, BMC, FORD OTOSAN,

HYUNDAI, KARSAN, M.A.N., MERCEDES-BENZ, OTOKAR, TEMSA, TOFAŞ) and nine

companies are producing buses and mini buses ( BMC, FORD, HYUNDAI, ANADOLU

ISUZU, KARSAN, M.A.N, MERCEDES-BENZ, OTOKAR, TEMSA).

The Turkish vehicle industry has a total capacity of 1,6 million vehicles, of which 1.4 million

(86%) is for light vehicles (passenger cars, minibuses and pick-ups). The total vehicle production in 2011

was 1.189.131 units (excluding tractors) which is a record for the

Turkish automotive industry .

There are 9 commercial vehicle manufacturers in Turkey. Five companies operate in the

agricultural tractor sector. The three major companies (TÜRK TRAKTOR, TUMOSAN and

HATTAT TARIM) are the leading producers and exporters in the agricultural tractor sector

Oyak-Renault was the biggest manufacturer with 330.994 units of passenger cars

vehicles, followed by Tofas-Fiat with 307.788 units of LCV’s and passenger cars. Ford

Otosan was the third top producer with 295.850 units, followed by Toyota with 91.639 units

of passenger cars.

ANADOLU ISUZU is a joint venture between Turkey’s Anadolu Group and Isuzu Motors

and the Itochu Corporation. Its main area of operations is the production and marketing of

commercial vehicles, including light trucks, trucks, pick-ups and midibuses.

BMC, is one of the Turkey’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers active in all

commercial vehicle segments. In 1980s, all shares of BMC were acquired by Çukurova

Holding. The company manufactures Levend and Megastar light trucks and heavy commercial vehicles; BMC

Professional and BMC Fatih. Today, with its production capacity of 22.000 vehicles per annum, BMC export to

over 70 countries around the world.

The other major vehicle producer is FORD OTOSAN, a joint venture between Ford and

Koc Holding which first began assembling Ford cars in 1984. Ford Otosan has three

factories in Turkey. Since 2007, the company has been more interested in R&D activities

through the establishment of Gebze Technology Center. The company TecFord Otosan,

which has a 330,000 unit annually capacity, exports a major part of its production line.

HONDA TURKIYE, with its plant at Gebze near Istanbul, commenced operations in 1998,

manufacturing passenger cars.

HYUNDAI ASSAN produces passenger cars, pick-ups and minibuses. The company is a

joint venture between South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company and the Turkish company

Kibar Holding. The Kocaeli plant is still Hyundai’s only passenger car plant in Europe.

Based in Bursa, KARSAN, is engaged in the manufacture of Peugeot Partner, Hyundai HD

35/75, Renault Trucks Premium and Premium Lander under the Renault license, Citroen

Berlingo under the Citroen license, its own brand Karsan J Series and BredaMenarinibus

brand busses.

MAN Turkiye, based in Ankara, produces buses and trucks as part of a joint venture with

German MAN.

MERCEDES-BENZ TURK was founded in 1967 as a joint venture between Daimler-Benz

A.G., Mengerler Ticaret and Has Otomotiv under the name of Otomarsan. Mercedes-Benz

Türk produces trucks and buses in two plants in Aksaray and Hoşdere/Istanbul. Today,

foreign partners of the company are Daimler-Chrysler and Overseas Lending Group. The

company is the largest full-size bus producer in Turkey.

OTOKAR manufactures a range of commercial vehicles. It produces passenger vans,

mini-buses, pick-ups, police team vehicles and mobile patrol vehicles.

OYAK RENAULT, the largest producer of passenger cars in Turkey. Oyak Renault is a

joint venture between the Turkish Oyak Group and the French carmaker Renault.

TEMSA, being one of Turkey's leading automotive companies, manufactures and

distributes Temsa brand buses and coaches in domestic and international markets. At the

same time, the Company represents Mitsubishi and Komatsu as their distributor in Turkey.

The production capacity of Temsa Adana plant is 3,250 buses and coaches per year and

7,500 light trucks, which is annually 10,750 vehicles in total.

TOFAŞ is a joint venture between Fiat Auto and Koc Holding. In October 2000, Tofaş

began production of the new Fiat model called Doblo, a light van/multi-purpose vehicle,

which is aimed largely for the export market. The Doblo is exported mainly to European

Countries. In 2007, TOFAŞ started its Minicargo project which includes producing the

same light commercial vehicle for three different brands which are Fiorino (FIAT), Bipper

(PEUGEOT) and Nemo (CITROEN).

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey is one of Toyota's vehicle production bases in Europe.

Located in Arifiye, Sakarya/Turkey, Toyota Turkey manufactures Verso and Auris models

Most of the vehicle manufacturing companies are organized under the Automotive

Manufacturers Association (OSD, Otomotiv Sanayicileri Derneği, http://www.osd.org.tr)

Exports of The Automotive Industry

Turkey’s total automotive vehicle exports in 2011 reached 805.660 units, corresponding to

a 11,2% increase in value compared to 2010. The export value of passenger cars, trucks

and buses was US$ 6,5 billion, US$ 4 billion and more than US$ 1 billion respectively. The

main export markets for the automotive industry are France, Italy, Germany, the United

Kingdom, the Russian Federation, Spain and USA.

AUTOMOTIVE SPARE PARTS INDUSTRY

Production

Turkish spare parts industry produces parts and pieces for the vehicles manufactured in

our country and in the global market, as well as for the OEM and After Market.

Turkey has a strong component sector and in recent years, it has developed a highly

competitive components industry providing products compatible with brands such as GM,

Mercedes, BMW, Opel, Toyota, Fiat and Ford. The Turkish spare parts industry, with its

large capacity, and a wide variety of production and high standards, supports automotive

production and the vehicle park in Turkey (15 million vehicles), and has ample potential for

exports.

The Turkish automotive and spare parts industry is concentrated in the Marmara Region,

mainly in Bursa. Two major car factories and two “Organized Industrial Zones” are located

in Bursa. Other important cities are Istanbul, İzmir, Kocaeli, Ankara, Konya, Adana and

Manisa. Another development in the Turkish Auto Parts Industry is the establishment of

the TAYSAD Components Manufacturers Industrial Zone (TOSB). The “Association of

Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers” (TAYSAD, http://www.taysad.org.tr),

began the TOSB project for its members in 1999. TOSB, covering a 2500 hectare area in

Kocaeli, provides its members with larger production sites, modern environmental facilities,

proximity to vehicle manufacturers, training and conference facilities, inter-enterprise

cooperation, and a technology and innovation center.

Due to the high export potential of the sector and Turkey’s regional advantages, the spare

parts sector has been attracting foreign investors. At present, the number of foreign

investors in the spare parts sector is 200. Most of the world leaders in the sector have

joint-ventures with Turkish companies.

Turkish automotive manufacturers are in direct contact with local spare parts

manufacturers for procurement and 70% of these companies are SMEs. The total number

of spare parts manufacturers in Turkey is about 4000. The export volume of spare parts

sector reached US$ 8.3 billion for the year 2011. The Turkish spare parts industry

produces almost all parts and components. At present, the local parts and components

production consists of:

 Engine and engine parts

 Power train parts and components

 Brake and clutch parts and components

 Hydraulic and pneumatic systems

 Suspension systems

 Security systems

 Rubber and plastic parts

 Chassis frame and parts

 Castings and forgings

 Electrical equipment and parts, lighting systems

 Batteries

 Auto glass

 Seats

Spare parts industry manufacturers are exerting intense efforts to obtain quality

certificates. Most members of TAYSAD have quality certificates such as the ISO 9000

Series and others. In fact, Turkish spare parts manufacturers are the pioneers of Turkish

companies for “The European Quality Award”. BRISA, a tyre producing company, was the

first winner of “The European Quality Award” in 1996. Then, BEKSA won the “The

European Quality Award” in the category of small and medium sized enterprises in 1997.

BEKSA, which was established in 1987, produces steel cord and bead wire for tyre

reinforcement and hose wire for high pressure hoses. In 2002, BOSCH Sanayi ve Ticaret

A.S. was awarded with a prize in the “operational units category” in 2003 by European

Foundation for Quality Management. The Bursa Bosch Diesel plant received the European

Quality Award in the field of Organisational Excellence, the most prestigious award in the

category. Bosch Bursa Diesel Plant has received the EFQM Excellence Award 2008 on

the 28th of October during the Award Ceremony held in the Louvre Museum, Paris. Bosch

Bursa Diesel plant is the first company in Turkey to win the EFQM Excellence Award for

the second time. Bosch Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. produces injectors, nozzle holder

assemblies and injectors for common-rail systems.



Exports of the Autoparts Industry

Turkey's spare parts industry exports are increasing significantly with the focus on

replacement components. The main spare parts products exported are engine parts, tyres

and tubes, accessories for bodies, road wheels and parts, rubber parts for motor vehicles,

transmission shafts and cranks. In fact, Turkey exports many cars, buses and trucks in

parts. In terms of the breakdown of spare parts exports by province, Bursa, Istanbul,

Kocaeli and Izmir have the major share. The number of companies in the spare parts

industry is about 4000. Approximately 400 auto parts exporters operate in the country, and

around 70% of their output is exported to the European Union.

Turkish spare parts products are destined for a wide range of countries in the world. The

main export markets are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Romania, Iran,

Spain, the United States, Belgium, the Russian Federation, Poland, Brazil and the

Netherlands.

Turkish spare parts exporters follow European and international standards and norms.

Many supplier companies have important, high-level customers like Porsche, Bentley,

BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi, Daimler Benz and Mercedes and major European

producers such as OPEL, VW, FORD and GM.

 USEFUL LINKS

Uludag Exporter’s Union
www.uib.org.tr

 Automotive Manufacturers Association
www.osd.org.tr

 Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers
www.taysad.org.tr  

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