Turkish automotive industry resumes production

Turkish automotive companies have started resuming production after their industry was one of the worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Honda Turkey’s Şekerpınar facility and Mercedes-Benz Türk’s plants in Hoşdere and Aksaray have restarted their operations this week.

Hyundai Assan and commercial vehicle manufacturers Otokar and Karsan resumed production on 20 April. Temsa, Türk Traktör, Tofaş, and Ford Otosan have announced they will end their “…corona break” on 4 May.

Oyak Renault and Man Turkey restarted production on 27 April, Kallanish notes.

Toyota will restart its output later than any other carmaker in Turkey. The Japanese manufacturer says in a statement its factory in Sakarya will start production on 11 May.

Many companies supplying the automotive industry have also temporarily stopped their production activities.

The Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers (TAYSAD), which has 450 members, said earlier in April that 40% of its members completely stopped production from 30 March-5 April. 50% of members have produced with limited capacity for the last month.

Now, TAYSAD members have started re-opening their factories.

The tire industry was also closed due to interruptions in the Turkish and European automotive industries. However, tire manufacturers have now also begun to restart production.

The developments show that the negative impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the Turkish automotive industry has started to ease.