Turkey determined to start local automobile production and ready for the challenge
President of the Federation of Motor Vehicle Sellers (MASFED) Aydın Erkoç said that they were ready to extend their support for the call President Erdoğan made to the business world about domestic automobile production.
Erkoç expressed they had provided support for the work conducted by The Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology from the very beginning and pointed out the importance of reducing the dependency of automotive sector on imports also emphasizing that local production should be encouraged.
Erkoç stated that they would be able to undertake all kinds of duties related to domestic automobile production and said, “We are also engaged in the domestic automobile case.” This is a national issue and we appreciate and feel excited about the initiative initiated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. We support the efforts displayed by the government wholeheartedly.
Erkoç also pointed out that the economy was the locomotive of the automotive industry in Turkey and that Turkey would be able to make its own domestic and national automobile thanks to its more than 50 years of experience. He also said “Turkey possesses enough engineers, technicians and workers to accomplish this.”
AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR IN TURKEY HAS REACHED A SIGNIFICANT SIZE
Erkoç emphasized that they wanted to see the domestic automobile on the roads in the shortest possible time and said that it would contribute to the economy much if local production could be accomplished. He said the sector had reached a significant economic size in recent years and went on to say following:
“There are about 21 million motorized vehicles in our country with more than 10 million automobiles. All of the world’s famous car brands travel on our highways. A major part of these vehicles are produced in Turkey by Turkish engineers and exported and we are capable of competing globally, in automotive technology. The annual production of our automotive sector reached 1 million 485 thousand 927 in 2016 with over 950 thousand automobiles. This should be considered as a very important achievement”
Erkoç also said in second-hand car market sales numbers had exceeded millions and expressed that the size of the market would increase in case of the production of the domestic automobile.
