Turkey's automotive exports reach $28.5B in 2017

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's automotive industry exports surged 19.5 percent to $28.53 billion in 2017, compared to the previous year, automotive exporters said Sunday.

The exports rose 6 percent to $2.49 billion in December, Uludag Automotive Industry Exporters' Association (OIB) stated.

The share of the automotive industry in the total exports of the country was 18 percent in 2017.

The monthly average for the industry was $2.4 billion in the year.

Exports to Germany, Turkey's largest market in the automotive field, were $4.36 billion during the January-December period of 2017, increasing 10 percent compared to the same period in 2016.

Italy and France followed Germany with $3.14 billion and $2.91 billion, respectively.

Seventy-seven percent of the country's total automotive exports were made to EU countries amounting to $22 billion, rising 17 percent during the same period.

Turkey's exports to North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) soared 87 percent to $1.64 billion in 2017 compared to previous year's $877.06 million.