The interest of Chinese automobile manufacturers in the Turkish market has revived recently, with reports of several automakers holding talks to discuss their investment plans in the country and some, such as SWM Motor, applying to build a car manufacturing plant in the country.
Moreover, together with a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette last Friday, the additional tariffs on imported Chinese vehicles were eased, providing the carmakers making investments in Türkiye exemption from the tariffs, according to the decree.
Türkiye has been long trying to lure carmakers to the country, putting especially Chinese companies on its radar, which now bore fruit.
In December last year, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır traveled to China, where he held talks with executives of several Chinese carmakers, calling on Chinese companies to invest in Türkiye.
The talks over Chinese automakers' interest in Türkiye were particularly heightened following a report that BYD, the electric vehicle (EV) maker that dethroned Tesla with the most units sold in the last quarter of 2023 would invest and build a plant in western Manisa province.
The potential deal, reported originally by Bloomberg, would mark one of the largest in the country's automotive sector in recent years, with the first details of it emerging following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana last week.
BYD has been on a tear for the last several years in China, becoming the nation’s best-selling car brand. The Shenzhen-based manufacturer has vowed to bring its lower-priced EVs to Europe in the coming years, including the Seagull hatchback that executives expect to sell for less than 20,000 euros ($21,700). The automaker also opened its first EV plant in Southeast Asia, Thailand, last Thursday.
On Monday, however, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that another Chinese vehicle producer, SWM Motor, applied to build a car manufacturing plant in Türkiye, according to the firm's representative in the country, Atmo Group.
Atmo Group said Chinese brands focused on localizing their production facilities to enter the EU and Türkiye markets.
Anton Chernov, the CEO of Atmo, said: "Atmo Group is interested in investing and developing more projects in Türkiye, our number of employees in Türkiye has doubled compared to last year, our revenue is growing every year and we have a long-term development plan."
"We are currently working on a production facility with an annual production capacity of more than 50,000 vehicles."
The production facility should meet the needs of the Turkish market and will also focus on exports to the Balkan countries and other markets in the EU region, he stressed.
"We started negotiations with the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology months ago for production in Türkiye, and we are in talks with the Turkish Ministry of Trade and the Turkish Investment Office," he noted.
SWM, an Italian brand, was purchased by Chinese leading automobile producer Shineray Group in 2014. The brand entered the Turkish market at the end of 2023 and determined the country as the center of its global growth strategy, Atmo recalled.
Separately, local media reports indicated that representatives from Skywell, a leading Chinese technology firm, recently visited Ankara to discuss their investment plans in Türkiye and explore opportunities to expand their strategic and technological partnerships globally.
The delegation met with their Turkish distributors, Ulu Motor executives, aiming to strengthen their collaboration further. Skywell officials emphasized their goal to enhance Türkiye's new energy vehicle industry technology.
According to the company's statement, Stephen Wong, the founder and chairperson of Skywell and owner of Skyworth Digital and Skywell Europe, accompanied by Wu Longba, co-founder and CEO of Skywell, and Chen Quanrong, regional director of Skywell Türkiye and Skywell Europe, led the visit. Their primary objectives included discussing new investments in Türkiye and introducing new models to the market, alongside expanding their existing strategic and technological partnerships with Ulu Motor on an international level.
Last month, the Turkish government announced a 40% additional tariff on imported fuel and hybrid passenger vehicles from China to take effect on July 7 in a bid to protect domestic industry and to downsize the impact of imports on the current account deficit.
With the incentive move, announced on Friday, Chinese automakers would likely be in a more convenient position if they present their investment plans and could avail from the proximity of the Turkish market to the European Union, where they are facing a new round of tariffs.
China has been facing increasing pressures worldwide over its growing exports of electric vehicles, which many countries claim are being heavily subsidized by Beijing.
The European Union last Thursday imposed extra provisional duties of up to 38% on Chinese EV imports because of Beijing's "unfair" support, a move that risks escalating tensions with Beijing. This is in addition to current import duties of 10% and follows the tariffs imposed by the U.S. earlier this year.
At the same time, Reuters also reported on Friday that Chinese carmaker Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) was in talks with Turkish electric vehicle manufacturer Togg over a possible joint production venture, citing a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official.
Several Chinese brands, including BYD, Skywell, MG, Chery, Leapmotor, Seres, Maxus, Hongqi, DFSK, NETA and SWM, sell their cars in Türkiye.
