The Vehicle Supply Manufacturers Association, the only and most competent representative of the Turkish automotive supply industry, held its last member meeting of the year. TAYSAD President Yakup Biri said that market dynamics have changed in the world and said, “Both Chinese suppliers and OEMs have a competitive advantage in cost and technology application speed. Chinese OEMs produce the E-Drive unit at a 23 percent lower cost than their European competitors.”
This difference stands out as a 21 percent advantage for Chinese brands in battery costs. Chinese brands have a significant advantage in speed and efficiency. The vehicle development cycle, which is between 42 and 63 months in Europe, is only 24-30 months for Chinese brands. “This reveals that the development cycles of Chinese players are twice as fast and they respond quickly to market changes,” he said. According to the results of the TAYSAD Competitiveness Survey announced at the meeting, the most basic problems of the sector were listed as high labor costs, exchange rate and interest burden/difficulty accessing credit.
Vehicle Supply Manufacturers Association (TAYSAD) held its last member meeting of 2025. Speaking at the meeting, TAYSAD President Yakup Biri noted that market dynamics have changed in the world and that growth is experienced in the eastern and global south markets. Stating that Western markets, Japan and Korea have reached or are about to reach the peak automobile period in terms of new vehicle sales, Yakup Biri said, “The region called the global south is expected to account for approximately 30 percent of the global vehicle sales volume by 2040, while new vehicle sales in western markets are expected to decrease to 3 percent compared to 2025. Both Chinese suppliers and OEMs have a competitive advantage in cost and technology implementation speed. Chinese OEMs are expected to bring the E-Drive unit to European markets.” “It produces at a 23 percent lower cost than its competitors. This difference also stands out as a 21 percent advantage for Chinese brands in battery costs,” he said.
European suppliers cannot cope with China!
Emphasizing that Chinese brands have a significant advantage in speed and efficiency, Yakup Biri said, “The vehicle development cycle, which is between 42 and 63 months in Europe, is only 24-30 months for Chinese brands. This reveals that the development cycles of Chinese players are twice as fast and they respond quickly to market changes. While European brands can make over-the-air software updates 3 times a year, this is 10 times a year for Chinese brands. This means that the development cycles of Chinese players are twice as fast and they respond quickly to market changes.” “European suppliers cannot adapt to the faster pace,” he said. Reminding that European light vehicle production experienced a 31 percent decline from 2017 to 2024, TAYSAD President Yakup Birinci continued: “Moreover, according to forecasts, production is expected to decline by 6 percent by 2028. Accordingly, we see that the business volume has stabilized at a contraction level of approximately 10 percent and there are only weak signs of recovery on the horizon.
A similar situation arises in income expectations. OEMs are demanding extended supplies of internal combustion engine products while also reducing orders for battery electric vehicles. The year-end vehicle production forecast worldwide increased by 2.9 percent compared to January, reaching 95 million 212 thousand units. In Europe, the year-end forecast is at 17 million 476 thousand units. As Türkiye, our year-end vehicle production expectation is at the level of 1 million 502 thousand units. “According to the estimates in January, an increase of 2.9 percent is observed.” Yakup Biri also pointed out that despite all these global challenges, the Turkish automotive supply industry maintains its export power. Biri said, “As the automotive supply industry, we exported approximately 14.47 billion dollars in the first 11 months of 2025. We closed the year 2024 at the level of 13.74 billion dollars. “This increase clearly demonstrates that the Turkish supply industry maintains its resilience and position in international markets in a period when global competition and transformation pressure intensifies,” he said.
Automotive Supply Industry is Looking for New Projects and Turning to Different Sectors!
With the last member meeting of the year, TAYSAD also shared the results of the Competitiveness Survey prepared in cooperation with EY Parthenon. Evaluating the results of the TAYSAD Competitiveness Survey, EY-Parthenon Turkey Company Partner Cem Çamlı said, “The Turkish automotive supply industry is in search of new projects today. When we look at the last 12 months, we see an 11-point increase in new product project acquisitions compared to 2024. However, despite this positive picture, the fact that the majority of the lost projects went to Poland, Czechia, India and Romania, especially China, reveals how tough the global competition has become. The percentage of won projects is “The fact that 34 of them are for internal combustion, 26 percent for electric and 13 percent for hybrid vehicles, and 27 percent come from different sectors other than automotive, clearly shows that the supply industry is looking for a new path for itself with new projects and turning to different sectors,” he said.
According to the survey, the main factors affecting competitiveness in the automotive supply industry are listed as follows: High labor costs, exchange rate and interest burden/difficulty accessing credit. 43 percent of the companies participating in the survey realize more than half of their sales as exports. Participants express their opinion that they expect a cautious but positive development in export growth in 2026. Accordingly, 34 percent of the participants predicted to increase their exports in the next 12 months, while 27 percent stated that their exports would decrease. Despite the decreasing capacity usage in 2025, 32 percent of TAYSAD members plan to make capacity investments in 2026. Of the companies making investment plans, 15 percent operate in the interior parts, 11 percent in the powertrain, 11 percent in the chassis, and 8 percent in the body sub-sectors.
In the panel session held within the scope of the meeting; The effects of global and local developments on the automotive supply industry, competitiveness and transformation were discussed. The panel was moderated by EY-Parthenon Türkiye Leader Kağan Karamanoğlu; TAYSAD President Yakup Biri, EY Türkiye Automotive Leader Arda Karaçelebi and EY Türkiye Tax Department Company Partner Sercan Bahadır shared their evaluations as panelists.
While the program continued with the evaluations of Hakan Güldağ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NBE Ekonomim Newspaper, on macroeconomics, at the end of the meeting, member certificates were presented to the members who joined TAYSAD in 2025 and a group photo was taken. TAYSAD General Membership Meeting provided an important evaluation basis in which the transformation dynamics, competitive conditions and strategic priorities faced by the automotive supply industry were comprehensively discussed.
Automobile Magazine – English
