In the first half of the year, the European market declined by 13%, and in June alone, the pace of contraction increased to 15%. There, the contraction is accelerating. Additionally, Eroldu noted at a press conference, inflation is rising throughout Europe. He listed other issues that negatively impact demand for cars, including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and anticipated central bank interest rate increases. All of the things point to a further fall in demand in Europe, which is why Eroldu said we need to diversify our export markets. Eroldu referred to the remote nation's strategy, which the Trade Ministry unveiled earlier this month and is intended to increase exports to the world's 18 top economies.

He stated that the local market's sales might make up for the decline in exports. In Turkey, one in every two vehicles sold was a homegrown creation; this is uncommon in a number of European nations. About 80% of the local automotive industry's exports go to Europe. According to Eroldu, Turkey's auto industry produced 649,311 units in the first half of 2022, a 2% rise. According to him, the industry produced 382,947 passenger cars from January to June, down 8% from the same time in 2021.

Overall exports from the automotive industry rose by 1.2% annually to 466,995 units, while exports of passenger cars fell by 9 % annually to 271,000 units in the first half of 2022, according to Eroldu. Local automakers produced 1.28 million vehicles in 2017, which is fewer than the 1.3 million units they produced the year before. In 2021, the number of passenger cars produced decreased by 8.4% to 783,000. However, the industry's export sales increased by almost 15% last year from 2020 to $29.9 billion, while exports of passenger cars decreased by 0.4% to $9.3 billion.

Ageing vehicles with emissions

The OSD was working on a report on the effect of air pollution caused by the age of the vehicles on the nation's highways. According to the study, 48% of Turkish vehicles are more than 11 years old, and these vehicles are to blame for 80% of Turkey's dangerous emissions, including carbon monoxide. The survey found that 6.7 million, or about 36% of those automobiles, were made prior to 2000. According to Eroldu, there were 21.5 million vehicles in Türkiye at the end of 2021. The average age of a passenger car is 13.6 years, that of a light commercial vehicle is 13.1, and that of a tractor is 24.3 years.