(Bloomberg) -- Turkey’s carmakers produced about 616,000 vehicles in the first five months of 2023, up 20% from the same period a year earlier, data published by Automotive Manufacturers Association showed. 

Output increased 32% to 137,012 units in May alone, the industry group said in a statement on Saturday. Exports in dollar terms rose about 33% to $3.09 billion in May, taking the five-month total to $14.7 billion. In euro terms, exports were up 18% to 13.6 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in the five month period. 

Home to factories including those of Renault, Fiat, Toyota and Hyundai, Turkey is a key vehicle exporter, especially to Western Europe. Auto exports account for 14% of the nation’s total foreign sales, Turkiye Exporters Assembly data show.

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Led by industrials including carmakers, Turkish stocks gained 15% in June. The surge is partly due to expectations that the country’s new economy management will allow the lira to depreciate, which would make exports more competitive. The currency weakened about 11% in June against the dollar, the worst performance among emerging market currencies tracked by Bloomberg. 

(Adds euro exports in second paragraph. A previous version of this story was corrected to remove reference to record stock high.)

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