Turkish auto production ‘to fall in 2014’

Turkish automotive production rose 5 percent in 2013 to 1.13 million units, but is expected to decline this year as domestic demand falls, the Automotive Manufacturers' Association (OSD) said in a report published on Sunday.

The jump in production last year was due mainly to a growing market in Turkey as well as more sales overseas, helped by the addition of new models, the OSD said. Exports last year were 14 percent higher at 828,000 vehicles, bringing revenue of $21.5 billion.

Turkey's vehicle industry, the country's biggest source of exports, is Europe's fifth-biggest, according to the OSD.

The impact of a sharp decline in the lira against the dollar so far this year, spurred in part by political uncertainty surrounding a wide-ranging corruption investigation, would only become clear in the coming weeks, the OSD also said.