Automotive Logistics in the World and in Türkiye

The global automotive industry continues to evolve constantly, driven by technological transformation, sustainability policies, and changing consumer demands.As of 2024, a total of 75.5 million vehicles were produced worldwide, while automobile sales reached 74.6 million units—marking a 2.5% increase compared to the previous year. This indicates that the industry is beginning to stabilize in the post-pandemic period.During this process, China has unquestionably maintained its leadership. In 2024, with a 5.2% increase in production, the country accounted for 35.4% of global automobile manufacturing and 31% of total sales on its own. Leading the way in electric vehicles as well, China is responsible for more than 60% of global EV production and 80% of battery manufacturing.

The European Union has shown steady growth, with 10.6 million vehicles in 2024. In addition to its domestic market, it has demonstrated a strong export performance with a trade surplus of over €81 billion.North America continued its recovery with growth of 3.8%, while traditional producers such as Japan and South Korea saw declines.Countries such as Brazil have started to stand out in commercial vehicle production.
Within this global structure, Turkey stands out with its strategic location, strong supply infrastructure and proximity to Europe. Especially in this period when flexibility and speed are gaining importance in automotive supply chains, the role of our country is becoming even more critical.In 2024, Turkey ranked 12th in the world and 3rd in Europe in automotive production. In commercial vehicle manufacturing, it is the second-largest producer in Europe.This strong production capacity also places the automotive sector in a leading position within Turkey’s exports.According to data from the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB), in 2024, automotive industry exports increased by 6.3% compared to the previous year, reaching 37.212 billion dollars. This figure accounts for 17.3% of Turkey’s total exports.

An export volume of this scale naturally entails a significant logistics workload and operational organization.It is estimated that the direct and indirect share of automotive and automotive sub-industry transportation in the overall business volume of Turkey’s logistics sector is at the level of 15–20%. This figure is quite striking in terms of demonstrating the sector’s significance. In the automotive supply industry, there are more than 500 companies in Turkey that manufacture directly for the main industry. These companies produce hundreds of thousands of different parts and components, delivering them regularly and on time to both domestic main industry factories and production facilities around the world. This structure creates not only a transportation market but also a large and growing market in terms of parts logistics, warehouse management, inventory optimization, and value-added logistics services.

As KITA Logistics, we are a business partner that stands out with our integrated logistics capabilities, developing tailored solutions for the dynamics of this strategic sector. In just the past year, we carried out 1,700 shipments for the automotive and automotive supply industries, which is a concrete indicator of our operational expertise in this field. We design and deliver our road, sea, and air freight services in a customized way for each client—whether it involves finished vehicles, specially manufactured engines, urgently needed spare parts, or heavy components providing tailor-made solutions according to specific needs. In addition, we are expanding our knowledge and expertise in handling electric vehicles, which are rapidly increasing in use worldwide, along with their components that require specialized transportation.In maritime transportation, we undertake the export shipments of critical parts such as seats, hubcaps, wheel bolts, and brake drums used in the production and maintenance processes of global brands such as Mercedes, Ford, Volvo, and Renault.

These parts are used not only in passenger vehicles but also in vehicles deployed in the defense industry.On the air freight side, we position ourselves in projects where time sensitivity and product value are high.We transport loads such as custom-built finished vehicles, engines for classic cars, charging batteries, and spare parts that need to be delivered under the “Urgent Service” category between different countries in the fastest and safest way. For example, we transported a large shipment of charging batteries from China to Hungary for a world-renowned brand that used our air and road freight services. We successfully carry out such operations which may require highly specialized transportation skills thanks to the strong partnerships we have established with global agents and the expertise of our experienced operations teams.