Turkish automaker Oyak Renault will halt production from March 15 to March 22 because of the global computer chip shortage, general manager Antoine Aoun said on March 9.

Since last year, the shortage of chips has led to disruptions at various global carmakers.

Oyak Renault has an annual production capacity of 378,000 vehicles and 920,000 engines at its plant in Turkey's Bursa province. The company produces Clio and Megane models there.

In 2019, Oyak was ranked the fourth largest industrial company in Turkey with Turkish lira (TRY) 25bn ($3.3bn) of production-based sales.

Automaker Ford Otosan (FROTO) ranked second while peer Toyota Turkey ranked third.

Refiner Tupras (TUPRS) kept top spot and its peer, STAR refinery near Izmir, controlled by Azerbaijan's national oil company SOCAR, was fifth. Turkey’s refiners were substantially hit by coronavirus pandemic impacts of 2020.

If the chip crisis spreads to other carmakers in the country, damage would be felt in the macroeconomy.

In 2020, Oyak Renault accounted for 23% of Turkey's vehicle exports, exporting 211,954 of the 930,038 units that were exported in all.

Automotive is Turkey’s largest export industry.

The BBC reported on March 9 that the European Commission has set an ambitious target to boost production of cutting-edge computer chips by the end of the decade. It wants 20% of such chips, in terms of value, to be manufactured within the EU by 2030. The figure was 10% in 2020. But setting up chip fabrication factories is tremendously expensive. A large plant can cost up to $20bn to build and kit out, according to a 2020 report by the US's Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). And it can take many years before the plants make a profit.