Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in Türkiye jumped nearly 150% in the period from January through October, according to industry data that showed their gasoline-electric hybrid rivals also rising, while fossil-fuel-powered cars continue to lose market share.
The battery-powered cars trend is expected to gain a fresh impetus as of 2023, when Türkiye’s first domestically produced electric vehicle is planned to hit the roads.
Some 4,939 electric vehicles were sold from January through October this year, according to the data from the Automotive Distributors Association (ODD), marking a 148.6% increase from the same period a year ago when 1,987 battery-powered cars were sold.
Overall sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Türkiye slipped 4.7% year-over-year in the first 10 months to 585,752 units, the data showed, driven by soaring prices and as problems from logistics bottlenecks to an ongoing chip shortage curbed production.
Car sales were down 6% from a year ago to 446,664 vehicles, while light commercial vehicles saw a more moderate drop of 0.4% to 139,088, according to the ODD.
Carmakers around the world have ramped up investments to accelerate their transition to electric vehicles. Demand for battery-powered vehicles and gas-electric hybrids has grown as gasoline prices skyrocketed this year.
In their drive to have EVs dominate vehicle sales in coming years, the automakers are promoting their new models as having the range, price and features to rival their gas-powered competitors.
Sales of gasoline-powered vehicles in Türkiye rose by 1.3% in the first 10 months of the year to 316,109 units, up from 312,193 that were sold in the same period a year ago.
Diesel car sales plunged by 23.1% in the January-October period to 74,677, compared to 97,110 units sold in 2021, the data showed.
Hybrid vehicle sales maintained an upward trend and jumped 7.5% to 43,897 units, up from 40,820 sold in the first 10 months of 2021.
Cars powered by gasoline held a 16.7% share in the overall sales in the January-October period, down from 20.4% a year ago, while that of diesel vehicles rose to 70.8% from 65.7%.
The two accounted for a combined 87.5% of the overall sales, up from 86.1% in the same period of 2021, the data showed.
Battery-powered and hybrid vehicles boosted their market shares to 1.1% and 9.8%, up from 0.4% and 8.6% in the first 10 months of last year, respectively, according to the ODD data.
Togg to add to competition
Although the share of electric and hybrid cars remains at low levels, the growth in sales shows a soaring interest of consumers in the electrified market.
This interest is expected to gain major momentum as Türkiye last week kickstarted the mass rollout of its first domestically produced electric vehicle.
Sales of Togg’s first all-electric C-segment SUV are set to begin in the first quarter of 2023. It will be the first electric sport utility vehicle produced in continental Europe by a nontraditional manufacturer.
Volvo Cars Türkiye General Manager Magnus Boman on Monday said Togg would add to the competition and help further grow the market.
"The first version of Togg’s SUV model will grow the electric vehicle market and expand everyone’s playing field. The faster Togg speeds up the process, the better it will be for all of us," Boman told Turkish private broadcaster Habertürk.
Togg will also have an important contribution to the expansion of the charging network infrastructure, he noted.
"All brands will benefit positively from this."
In addition to the SUV, Togg will be manufacturing another four models – a sedan, C-hatchback, B-SUV and B-MPV – through 2030. Mass production of the SUV will be followed by the sedan.
The vehicle is being produced by a consortium of five Turkish companies called the Automobile Initiative Group of Türkiye, or Togg, in cooperation with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB).
The current production capacity stands at around 100,000 vehicles per year, Togg CEO Gürcan Karakaş has said, a figure that is expected to increase gradually. The brand aims to produce 1 million vehicles across the five segments by 2030.
The joint venture plans to export the EVs to Europe and then the rest of the world after up to 18 months of domestic sales only.
The car was designed by Italy’s Pininfarina design company, which has created models for Ferrari and California-based electric carmaker Karma.
The company said Togg will be built from 65% locally made parts by 2025, up from an initial 51%.