Türkiye is in the final stages of discussions regarding a potential investment by Chery, a senior official said on Tuesday, as Ankara aims to strengthen its ties with Chinese carmakers following an agreement with China's BYD earlier this year.
"We are in the final steps for the investment with Chery... In the coming period, we expect to achieve significant results in the areas of electric vehicles and battery technologies," Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Kacır's remarks came after Reuters cited a Turkish official confirming that talks with Chery regarding investment in Türkiye were nearing completion.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not specify what sort of investment Chery and Ankara were discussing or whether there was a timeline for reaching a final deal.
In July, Ankara said Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD agreed to build a $1 billion production plant in Türkiye with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles.
BYD's electric and rechargeable hybrid car production facility, which is planned to start production in western Manisa province at the end of 2026, is envisaged to employ up to 5,000 people directly.
Alongside Chery, Türkiye has also been in talks with state-owned SAIC Motor, which owns MG Motor.
Türkiye's Presidency said on Saturday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had met Chery International President Guibing Zhang on the sidelines of an investment event in Istanbul. Kacir also attended the talks.
Kacır on Tuesday said they had consultations with Chery over the weekend to discuss how the investment could be implemented.
As it intensifies the push for local production, Türkiye recently announced it would impose strict conditions on the import of plug-in passenger and commercial hybrid vehicles from some countries, including China.
Analysts said Ankara was seeking to increase pressure on Chinese carmakers with which it is holding talks about investing in domestic production.
That move followed earlier restrictions in June, when Türkiye imposed additional tariffs on internal combustion engines and hybrid vehicles imported from China.
China has faced widespread criticism over its vehicle exports, which many countries claim are heavily subsidized by Beijing.
Strengthening Togg
Meanwhile, Kacır also expressed openness to any collaborations that could strengthen Türkiye's electric vehicle manufacturer, Togg.
In July, reports suggested Togg had engaged in discussions with another Chinese automaker, Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), for potential production cooperation.
When asked about the possibility of a foreign partnership, Kacır said, "Togg already has such a collaboration in place. It has formed a joint venture with Farasis for battery technologies under the name Siro. Similar collaborations may increase, and we would welcome any partnerships that would strengthen Togg."
The current partners in Togg include Anadolu Group, BMC, Turkcell, Zorlu Holding and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB).
Togg's assembly line is currently manufacturing T10X, a C-segment SUV, whose sales were launched last year. Its exports are expected to begin by the end of this year or in early 2025.
Besides the SUV, the company will manufacture four other models – a fastback, a C-hatchback, B-SUV and B-MPV – by 2030.
Unveiled earlier this year, the fastback sedan, the T10F, is scheduled to go on sale in Türkiye next year and then in the European market, according to the company.
The company has already started working on the B-SUV model, which it named T8X. It could unveil it as soon as next year.
Togg's production capacity is aimed to reach 100,000 vehicles per year before increasing to 175,000 once its plant in the northwestern Bursa province reaches full capacity.
The brand aims to manufacture 1 million vehicles across the five segments by 2030.
In Europe, sales of fully electric vehicles have been falling more rapidly than those of hybrid cars, according to industry data.
Türkiye's domestic car and light vehicle market was at 762,000 units for the first eight months of the year, around the same as last year.
Imports of Chinese brands jumped more than twofold to 63,000 units, taking 8% market share, according to industry data.