Turkey’s automotive exports have reached pre-pandemic levels following an eight-month decline, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Sunday.

According to the piece, the automotive industry registered a jump of 0.5% in September compared with 2019, surpassing $2.6 billion (TL 20.21 billion) in sales abroad.

According to data from Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters Association (OIB), the industry began this year with record-breaking figures.

The industry reached it's highest-ever January sales this year with a 3.2% increase and $2.4 billion worth of exports sold, but by February recorded a slight decrease due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, especially in China at the time.

Germany top buyer

The month of September saw the most sales to Germany with the country buying over $334 million in automotive products with the runner-up being France, which imported nearly $305 million in Turkish automotive products.

The United Kingdom, Italy and Spain followed, marking a figure of at least $130 million in Turkey’s exports.

The Turkish automotive industry has also seen record jumps in exports to Hong Kong, Liberia, Greece, Afghanistan and Australia.

Exports to Hong Kong jumped by a whopping 2,179%, nearing $4.3 million. On the other hand, Liberia bought 673% more Turkish automotive products for slightly over $1 million.

Exports to Yemen also jumped prominently, marking a 242% increase nearing $1.5 million in exports while Afghanistan bought 152% more Turkish automotive parts, marking nearly $2 million in exports. Despite recent tensions over Eastern Mediterranean gas exploration and Aegean maritime jurisdiction issues, Turkey’s western neighbor Greece also opted to use the Turkish automotive industry with its imports from Turkey jumping 111%, surpassing $24.2 million.