A record $41.5B in automotive exports — 72.5% to the EU. The sector's biggest strength and its biggest exposure are the same thing.
Automotive is Türkiye's largest export sector — a record $41.5 billion in 2025 (+11.6%), about one in six export dollars. The EU took 72.5% of that value. That concentration is both the strength and the exposure: May 2026 exports fell 17% year-on-year to $3.26 billion (fewer working days a cited factor), though Jan–May held +2.6% at $17 billion against a $43 billion full-year target. The direction is intact; the European order book is the variable.
EU van registrations fell 8.8% in 2025, and the EU is weighing production-origin conditions in proposed industrial and automotive support rules — not enacted, but material for where carmakers put the next plant. Renault expanding Boreal production to a second Bursa hub this year is one visible bet that Turkish lines stay relevant. For the supply chain, the 2026 read is concentration risk: European demand and EU rules now move the order book more than domestic conditions do.