Türkiye has imposed a 40% additional tariff on imports of motor vehicles with only electric motors from China, a presidential decision published in the country's Official Gazette showed on Friday.

The implementation came as Türkiye prepares to roll out the country’s first domestically produced electric car, Togg.

Starting the project in 2018, Togg began the mass production phase in October as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated the long-anticipated massive manufacturing plant in the northwestern province of Bursa.

Togg will debut in the market in the first quarter of 2023 with the SUV, its first smart device in the C segment, after the completion of homologation tests.

To encourage the success of the project, the government has provided various forms of support, including tax reductions, land allocation, favorable borrowing rates and a commitment to purchasing 30,000 vehicles annually until the close of 2035.

In 2022, sales of electric cars in Türkiye surged by almost threefold, reaching 7,733 units, due in part to lower consumer tax rates when compared to traditional combustion-engine cars. Despite this impressive growth, electric vehicles only account for slightly over 1% of the country's overall passenger car market.

The sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the country rose 63.4% year-over-year in January to 81,148 units, the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association said Thursday.

In the January-February period, sales increased 50.4% year-over-year, the association added.