Why is Turkish automotive industry “not afraid” of global crises

Turkey is one of major successful European and global players in the automotive market, and its domestic automotive market is a vivid example of a rapid recovery from economic crises. In 2020, Turkey became the only European country to increase domestic car sales compared to the previous year. To identify the reasons for these successes, the authors analyze Turkish automotive market for 2012-2022, the dynamics of competitive situation in the market as a whole and within the leading group of automotive manufacturers, as well as the actions of automakers and the Turkish government. The Linda index (to determine the core of the market and key players), the SV (strength/variety) matrix to analyze the dynamics of competition in the market under consideration, as well as the Herfindahl-Hirschman coefficient were used as research methods. The study shows that (1) macroeconomic events that affected the absolute level of car sales did not significantly affect the distribution of market shares among the leading players; (2) the strategy for mutually beneficial cooperation with global automotive holdings, when Turkey created joint ventures with foreign firms allowed the country to ensure sustainable competitiveness in the world market; (3) the competitive situation in Turkish automotive market over the past 10 years is characterized by a highly dynamic behavior of leaders, a stable growth of their aggregate market share, increasing differentiation between the main players.

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