Turkey's automotive exports drop in Q1 due to COVID-19

Turkey's automotive exports decreased by 10% to stand at $6.98 billion year-on-year in the first quarter due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters Association said.

The country's automotive exports were $7.75 billion in the first quarter of 2019, the association's data showed on March 5. 

Monthly automotive exports also decreased by 28.5% to $2.1 billion in March, it said.

In the first quarter, the country's overall exports also posted a decline of 4%.

The automotive sector's exports to the EU countries narrowed by 31% in March.

Ruhsar Pekcan, the Turkish trade minister, has said last week that there will be a drop in the total foreign trade of Turkey, but the government is working to keep at the minimum level.

Turkey has confirmed a total of 501 fatalities from the novel coronavirus, while the number of infected people reached 23,934, according to official figures late on April 4.