European carmakers seek a Made in EU carve-out for Türkiye plants

According to a 27 October report in Hürriyet Daily News, ACEA policy and strategy director Maria Linkova-Nijs said manufacturers who invested on the strength of existing rules should not be penalised. She asked negotiators to take account of investments in two countries, Türkiye and Morocco, especially in heavy commercial vehicles. The Franco-German position described in the same report brings the UK into the automotive framework while excluding Türkiye. Cengiz Eroldu, chairman of the Automotive Manufacturers Association, said that position represents only two member states and does not reflect Europe's production networks.

The legal ground for the dispute is the Industrial Accelerator Act, which the Commission proposed on 4 March 2026 to support production in the EU through public procurement and incentives. In a 13 March assessment, Hergüner Bilgen Üçer notes that Articles 8 and 9 of the proposal treat content from countries in a customs union or free trade area with the EU as EU-origin. The same March 2026 assessment says Turkish firms still cannot bid directly in EU public tenders. The two members' position risks carving cars out of this general equivalence rule and tying them to a narrower definition.

OİB data show what is at stake for Türkiye. Forbes Türkiye reports that automotive exports reached 31.145 billion dollars in the first nine months of 2026. Of that, 22.948 billion dollars, or 73.7%, went to the EU. The supplier industry accounted for 12.135 billion dollars, or 39% of the total, over the same period. Eroldu said industry representatives reviewed developments with Trade Minister Ömer Bolat on 19 October. According to a 21 October Hürriyet report, Ankara will step up contacts with Italy and Spain. A European Parliament vote is expected in December, and the process could conclude in April 2027.