Türkiye saw over 27,600 fully electric car sales in the first five months of the year, marking a staggering 257.3% rise when compared to the same period of 2023, according to recent data from the country's top automotive association.
The market share of electric cars has also surged over the same period to over 7% while hybrid sales continued to increase, the data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD) showed.
Overall sales of cars and light commercial vehicles in the country displayed a 6% increase during the first five months of the year. This resulted in a total of 471,743 new vehicle sales by the end of May, according to ODMD.
Car sales during this period totaled 375,097, posting a 10.25% increase, while sales of light commercial vehicles plunged by 7.9% to 96,646 units.
Within the car segment, gasoline-fueled cars led with 247,828 units sold, followed by hybrid cars with 54,065 units. Diesel car sales accounted for 39,351 sales, and those powered by LPG stood at 2,783.
At the same time, sales of fully electric cars amounted to 27,604, the data showed.
When including vehicles with an extended range (E-REV), effectively an all-electric vehicle, with all the motive power provided by an electric motor, but with a small ICE present to generate additional electric power, the electric car sales stood at 31,070 units in the first five months.
Hybrid sales on rise
By the end of May, compared to the same period last year, sales of diesel cars decreased by 33.1% and LPG cars by 37%, the data showed.
The sales of gasoline cars saw an increase of 7.4%, while hybrid car sales rose by 50.3% and fully electric car sales skyrocketed, surging by 257.3% year-over-year.
The main reason for the decline in diesel car sales is attributed to global manufacturers phasing out diesel car production, resulting in fewer new diesel car models being introduced to the market.
The market share of gasoline cars decreased to 66.1% from 67.8% compared to the first five months of last year, according to the data. The share of diesel cars decreased from 17.3% to 10.5%, and LPG cars declined from 1.3% to 0.7%, respectively.
Meanwhile, from January through May, the share of fully electric cars in total sales increased from 2.3% to 7.4%, and for hybrids, it increased from 10.6% to 14.4%.
When considering all categories (fully electric, extended range electric and hybrid), vehicles with electric motors comprised 22.7% of the total market, respectively.
In May alone, some 7,349 fully electric cars were sold, representing 9.2% of all sales for that month.
Türkiye's electric car sales surpassed the 65,000 mark in 2023, leaving behind many EU countries and securing the number six spot in the European sales ranking.
Boosted by sales of the first domestic electric vehicle Togg, which sold nearly 20,000 units last year, the Turkish EV market remained buoyant in the first months of the year despite higher borrowing costs.
Electric vehicles gained in popularity due to climate-related goals, although concerns related to the availability of lithium – a key metal used for the production of EV batteries – affordability, and speed of building charging infrastructure globally remain as top focus of the sector.