Sales of electric cars in Türkiye have been booming this year, capturing a market share unseen to date, dominated by the first homegrown battery-powered vehicle brand that has been adding momentum to its deliveries.

Nearly 22,900 electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold from January through August of this year, according to the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD) data.

This translates into over 597% increase compared to 3,283 electric cars that were sold in the same period a year ago.

Their gasoline-electric hybrid rival also maintained a robust pace and saw sales jump 65.7% in the first eight months to 60,489 units.

Despite having launched its deliveries just four months ago, Togg, Türkiye’s first domestically produced electric vehicle, has managed to swiftly become the bestselling brand with a top model in the electric car segment.

The brand said it delivered 3,400 of its T10X as of the end of August. Of this, 1,965 were delivered last month alone.

Mass production of the fully electric C-segment SUV was launched last October, and deliveries started in late April. The carmaker had said it planned to deliver about 20,000 units by the end of 2023.

Overall, passenger cars and light commercial vehicle sales in Türkiye from January through August reached 755,282 units, an increase of 64.7% versus the same period a year ago.

Passenger cars surged by 64.3%, totaling 582,419 units, while light commercial vehicle sales witnessed a 66.4% growth, reaching 172,863 units.

Demand has been notably high as depreciation in the Turkish lira and soaring prices prompted consumers to continue to opt for cars they see as a tool to safeguard themselves from high inflation.

Annual inflation surged to 58.94% over the 12 months ending in August. It had reached a 24-year high of 85.5% last October and stood at 47.83% this July after regressing to as low as 38.21% in June.

Market share reaches nearly 4%

Battery-powered and hybrid vehicles saw their market shares reach 3.9% and 10.4%, up from just 0.9% and 10.3% in the first eight months of last year, respectively.

Cars powered by gasoline held a 61.6% share in the overall sales in the January-August period, down from 70% a year ago, while that of diesel vehicles fell to 15.7%, from 17%.

Togg’s T10X now holds an 18.2% share in the overall EV market, a 33% in electric SUV and a 55.3% in C-SUV segments. It accounted for 3% of all passenger car sales in August.

The company has become the leading brand and model in the Turkish electric vehicle market, overshadowing international competitors like Tesla, which opts not to disclose country-based sales figures.

In addition to Tesla, many other brands have launched sales of models they had earlier announced. Many Chinese companies have also ramped up deliveries to the country.

The T10X is initially being sold with one engine type and two battery options. It will feature battery packs with 52.4 and 88.5 kilowatt-hour capacities, boasting ranges of 314 and 523 kilometers (195 and 325 miles).

The batteries of the T10X can be recharged to up to 80% from 20% in less than 28 minutes at fast-charging stations.

A consortium of five Turkish companies called the Automobile Initiative Group of Türkiye, or Togg, is manufacturing the vehicle in cooperation with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB).

Besides the SUV, Togg will manufacture four other models – a sedan, C-hatchback, B-SUV and B-MPV – by 2030. The sedan will follow the mass production of the SUV.

The current production capacity of around 100,000 vehicles per year will reach 175,000 once Togg’s factory reaches total capacity.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said some 28,000 units would be produced this year. The brand aims to manufacture 1 million vehicles across the five segments by 2030.

Togg plans to begin exports as of 2025, while the initial production will be tailored for the domestic market.