Motor vehicles produced in factories in Turkey have been exported to 170 countries around the globe in the January-June period, official figures showed.

The value of these motor vehicles totaled around $13 billion, with European countries being the top market for Turkish exporters in this period, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data.

While the vehicles manufactured in Turkey by major brands of the sector, such as Fiat, Renault, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai, hit the European streets, imports of motor vehicles fell by 48% year-on-year in the aforementioned period. Exports on the other hand, posted a 5% drop.

Exports were spearheaded by European automotive giants such as Germany and France. While France took the lead in exports with $1.6 billion, Germany came second with $1.5 billion, followed by Italy with $1.3 billion, the United Kingdom with $1.2 billion and Spain with $804 million. Turkey's imports in this sector dropped to $4.3 billion. Thus, $8.3 billion generated in motor vehicle imports in the first half of last year decreased by $4 billion. Germany led the way in Turkey's motor vehicle imports in the first half of the year with $1 billion, followed by France with $371 million, Spain with $332 million, Japan with $296 million and Italy with $264 million.