Dear friends,

The first 9-month automotive production figures of our country were just communicated by OSD. Total automotive production in our country fell 9% in the first 9 months of this year. Although the total number of production is above the 1 million threshold, there is a sharp fall in production. The 21% decline in heavy commercial vehicle production is another concrete indicator of economic recession.

It is worth remembering that the total automotive market in our country has decreased by 40% in the first 9 months compared to last year. In this contraction, the largest share belongs to commercial vehicle sales, which contracted by 48%. This contraction refers to economic recession as well.

Let’s look at the export figures : In the first 9 months of the year, our total automotive exports contracted by 6% on the basis of units. In auto exports, the contraction was 8%. In fact, here is the problem. We were able to compansate the high volatility  in domestic market with our exports over the years. Unlike the last 15 years, it is not the case this time. The significant contraction in domestic market is followed by contraction in exports.
As you know, our biggest export market is the EU zone.  More than 70% of our automotive production is exported to EU countries. Sales in EU countries this year fell by the end of August due to the compliance process with WLTP ( Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure ) Rules.
Fortunately, significant sales increases began to be withnessed in the countries that completed this process last September. For example, automotive sales sharply increased by 22% in Germany, 18% in Spain and 17% in France on a monthly basis in September compared to last year. This gives us hope that we would export more in coming months.

Dear friends,

Last weekend we received another news that closely affected the Renault Nissan Alliance.
Following the end of the Carlos Ghosn era, Thiery Bollore was also ousted by a sudden decision of Renault Nissan Alliance Board. 
I’ve met Bollore  few times during my career which took more than 16 years as top manager at Renault Mais. He held a position just under  Ghosn as he was  in charge of global production of Renault. We were all impressed by his powerful and innovative leadership in the field that he was responsible.
I hope to learn more soon in detail the reasons for this sudden leave from Renault Nissan alliance. My first comment is that with Bollore’s departure, there is a strong possibility that the bond between Renault and Nissan will be strengthened. In addition, Renault and Nissan could revive merger talks with  FCA ( Fiat Chrysler Automotive ) Group.
We’ll have to wait and see.

See you in my next articles.

PS. You may also follow my articles on motor1.com and otomobilhaber.com.tr