Relationship between r&d investment and sales revenue: Turkey's main and sub automotive industry

The automotive industry is high ranking with the size of R&D and innovation activities worldwide and by the span of its linked industries is of great importance for the economies of countries in which it operates. Turkey's experience in automotive industry starts around 1950's. Since then, Turkey continues being attractive for global automotive manufacturers and suppliers manufacturing investments and the industry is of great importance in Turkey's economy. Despite this, it is argued in several academic studies and publications that; low technology R&D activities are realized, the industry is formed under the control of foreign direct investments and that Turkey's automotive industry is not approaching the strategic targets expressed in policy documents for many years. In this study, the current state and future prospects of Turkey's automotive industry are reviewed in detail. Also, the relationships between; sales revenue, R&D activities, marketing activities, and tangible fixed assets are evaluated using statistical methods. With this, the aim of the study is to aid in creating an evidence based roadmap for future policies of Turkey's automotive industry. It is expected that the detailed reviews and findings of the study will be valuable for academicians, company managements and policymakers.