Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB Turkey Automotive Industry Council convened in Istanbul. In his speech at the meeting, TOBB Turkey Automotive Industry Council Vice President Tezer assessed the developments. The four month period spanning January through to April has seen an increase in production by 67% in comparison to the same period in 2010 and 274,000 sales have been finalized. For the same term, the increase in the automobile market has increase by 70% and sales have risen to 177,000. Tezer stated that the increase in demand which started in the second half of 2010 and lasted throughout the year continues to be effective in the January-April period of 2011.In the four month period there has been an overall increase in the automotive sector by 16%, Sezer said and went on to say that in comparison with the same period of the previous year, the production overall production has increased to 408,000 and the automobile production has increased to 223,000.- Automotive industry exports have increased by 7%The increasing demand for commercial vehicles as an investment indicates positive expectations stated Tezer, he reported that the commercial vehicle market has reached its highest point in the last years during this 2011 January-April period.Tezer stated that January-April of this year in comparison to the previous has seen an increase of 7% in exports overall for the automotive industry and 3% increase in automobile exports.- “Model year” discussionAlso discussed during the meeting were “model year” legislation and its problems by the involved council members. Pointing out that the taxation legislation was an inseparable part of the Model year legislation on motor vehicles, council members stated that the Motor Vehicles Taxation Legislation’s “Model Year” concept was what determined a vehicle’s age. Sector representatives emphasized the need for a 2 month period between “model years” to determine which year a vehicle belonged to in order to prevent a vehicle aging a year in a day that it has been in the showroom with considerable loss in value.The subjects of guarantee, environment, technical regulations and the developments therein were also discussed during the meeting. The importance of supporting the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology’s infrastructure was emphasized. The clarification of the Consumer Protection Law’s legislation on the guarantees of commercial vehicles were requested as well as a new iteration of the legislation as soon as possible.