EU is Turkish auto sector's main export market

EU is Turkish auto sector’s main export market

The Turkish automotive sector, regarded as the locomotive of the Turkish economy, shipped 67.8 percent of its total exports to the European Union (EU) in the first nine months of 2005. The percentage rises to 71.5 percent when candidate countries Romania and Bulgaria are added. The EU accounted for $6.4 billion of Turkey's total automotive exports of $9.51 billion. Among the EU countries, exports to Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK exceeded half of the total exports with $4.7 billion. The Turkish automotive sector exported to 171 countries and 14 free zones in the first nine months of the year.