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Türkiye’s automotive industry recorded the highest exports last year, reaching $41.5 billion, according to data released by the Turkish Exporters Assembly.
Figures from Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) showed the automotive sector led all industrial groups in 2025 with $41.5 billion in exports. Chemical products ranked second with $31.9 billion, while the electrical and electronics sector followed with $17.7 billion.
The defense and aerospace industry posted the strongest annual growth, with exports rising 48.8% in 2025.
Exports by the industrial group, which accounts for 82% of Türkiye’s total exports, increased 6% year on year to $194.8 billion.
Agricultural exports, representing 15.3% of total exports, rose 0.6% to $36.4 billion, while mining exports, which accounted for 2.6%, increased 3.4% to $6.2 billion.
Germany was Türkiye’s largest export destination last year, with shipments totaling $19.8 billion. The United Kingdom ranked second with $14.2 billion, followed by the United States at $13.2 billion.
By city, Istanbul led exports with $95.2 billion, followed by Kocaeli with $22.9 billion and Bursa with $17.9 billion.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye aims to raise total exports to $410 billion in 2026, comprising $282 billion in goods exports and $128 billion in services exports.
“Our target for 2026 is total exports of $410 billion,” Erdogan said while speaking at the 2025 Export Figures Announcement Program at the Istanbul Congress Center. “Thank God, we managed to exceed last year’s target.”
Erdogan said that among the top export chapters by value, motor vehicles rose by $4.3 billion to $36.7 billion, arms and ammunition increased by $2.1 billion to $4.7 billion, and electrical machinery and equipment climbed by $1.3 billion to $17.8 billion.
Erdogan said investments in high-technology manufacturing were increasingly reflected in export figures.
“In 2025, exports of high-technology products increased 12.7% to $9.9 billion, while medium-high technology exports rose 10.6% to $102.1 billion,” he said. “While these products accounted for only 30% of our exports in 2002, the ratio reached 43.5% in 2025.”
He added that Türkiye’s strong production base continues to underpin export performance.
“With nearly 2 million units of production capacity in the automotive sector, annual production of 1.5 million vehicles and exports exceeding $41 billion, we are Europe’s fourth-largest and the world’s 12th-largest production base,” Erdogan said. He also cited the expansion of domestic electric vehicle brand Togg into European markets as evidence of Türkiye’s engineering and design capabilities.
Automotive exports rose 11.8% in 2025 to $41.4 billion, while machinery and electrical machinery exports increased 4% to $43.7 billion, he added.
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