Automotive Ekports July 2024

Monthly automotive aftermarket magazine
GROUP CHAIRMAN
H. FERRUH ISIK
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We are at Automechanika Mexico 2024
The Turkish automotive industry, which was originally founded for importsubstitution
purposes and focused on the domestic market for a long period,
transformed itself into a production base for a number of global models. It
is evident that competitiveness at the domestic level has been replaced with
competitiveness on a global scale.
There are major multinational vehicle manufacturers with their own production
facilities in Türkiye. While some of these companies are engaged in a joint
venture with Turkish companies, others are operating independently.
The Turkish automotive supplier industry produces almost all types of parts,
components and spare parts such as engines and engine parts, power train
parts and components, brake and clutch parts and components, hydraulic and
pneumatic systems, suspension systems, security systems, rubber and plastic
parts, chassis, frames and parts, casting and forging, electrical equipment and
parts, lighting systems, accumulator batteries, seats etc.
producers of parts and components have attained high standards reflected by
large export volumes to the Western countries.
There are numerous producers of automotive components and services in
Türkiye. More than half of these manufacturers compete in global markets and
set high standards of export figures. Among them are many small and medium
manufacturers with advanced technologies, constant updates and support from
outside Türkiye, and a dynamic company structure. Many companies operating
in the Turkish market possess international certifications, enhancing their global
market position.
Our publications remain at the service of those businesses people seeking to
increase their share in the increasingly competitive foreign markets.
This month, we participate in Automechanika Mexico 2024. Last year’s event
featured an impressive 511 exhibitors from 24 countries and attracted over
27,200 visits from 39 countries, setting the stage for an even more exciting event
this year.
We are convinced that the event would be instrumental to increase business
opportunities in the automotive industry as usual.
We wish all business people success and lucrative business.
automotiveexport
EDİToR
automotiveexports

Chinese car makers push for retaliatory EU car tariffs
Chinese automakers have urged Beijing to retaliate
against Brussels’ decision to place curbs on Chinese
electric vehicle exports by raising tariffs on imported
European gasoline-powered cars, the state-backed
Global Times newspaper said.
In a closed-door meeting also attended by European
automakers, Chinese car companies and industry
groups suggested authorities hike tariffs on large
gasoline-powered vehicles imported from the
European Union, the report said.
EU trade policy is turning increasingly protective owing
to concerns China’s production-focused, debt-driven
development model could see the 27-member bloc
flooded with cheap goods, including EVs, as Chinese
firms look overseas due to weak domestic demand.
The European Commission’s June 12 announcement
that it would impose anti-subsidy duties of up to
38.1% on imported Chinese EVs from July follows the
United States hiking tariffs on Chinese cars in May,
and opens a new front in the West’s trade war with
Beijing, which began with Washington’s initial import
tariffs in 2018. The Global Times first reported that a
Chinese government-affiliated auto research center
was suggesting China raise its import tariffs on large
gasoline-powered cars to 25%, citing an industry
expert. China’s current import tariff for cars is 15%.
Chinese authorities have previously hinted at possible
retaliatory measures through state media commentaries
and interviews with industry figures.The same
newspaper also hinted that Chinese firms planned to
ask authorities to open an anti-dumping investigation
into European pork products, which China’s commerce
ministry announced it would undertake. It has also
urged Beijing to look into EU dairy imports.
July 2024
8

Türkiye in advanced talks with
China’s BYD, Chery for EV plants
July 2024
Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır
said Türkiye is in advanced discussions with Chinese
electric carmakers BYD and Chery Automobile for
factory investments in the country.
“We would like to complete the talks as soon as
possible. We have come a long way with both of
them,” Kacır said in an interview to Bloomberg News.
He added that separate negotiations with SAIC Motor,
which owns MG Motor, and Great Wall Motor are also
underway.
The development comes as the European Commission
is investigating whether fully electric cars manufactured
in China were receiving distortive subsidies and
warranted extra tariffs.
BYD, Chery and Great Wall Motors did not immediately
respond to a request for comment, while SAIC could
not be immediately contacted.
“There is significant interest by global brands for
the production of electric cars in Türkiye. Türkiye’s
membership in the European Union’s customs union
is still a big advantage for many global brands,” Kacır
had previously said.
In December, Kacır visited eight different Chinese
cities and engaged with automotive and battery
manufacturing companies, including GAC AION, Chery,
Zeekr, BYD, SAIC, Fararis Energy and Huawei.
Farasis is establishing a battery cell production facility
in northwestern Bursa’s Gemlik district in collaboration
with Togg.
Türkiye in 2023 had imposed a 40% additional
tariff on imports of electric vehicles from China. EV
sales in Türkiye hit a record of 65,562 units in 2023,
constituting 6.8% of the total auto sales.
The record share was driven by the first homegrown
EV brand, Togg, and the entry of new players like Tesla
and BYD.
Sales of EVs in the first four months of this year rose
by more than 270% to over 20,250 units, according to
the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association
(ODMD).
12

No risk with Tradisk
Specialized in the tractor aftermarket industry for almost a half century,
Tradisk offers more than 600 product variety with more than 20 tractor brands.
Could you briefly introduce yourself and your
company?
Tradisk, established in 1982 in Arnavutköy, Istanbul,
is a manufacturer of tractor clutch discs and clutch
facings, serving customers worldwide with over
100 employees.
Sadi Angilci, General Manager
Located in Arnavutkoy, Istanbul, Tradisk has been
offering quality services to its customers all over
the world. Increasing its product variety constantly,
the company realizes this through its integrated
manufacturing facilities. We asked more details to
Mr. Sadi Angilci, General Manager at the firm:
What is in your product portfolio and what are the
prominent factors in these products? What kind of
studies do you have on product development and
R&D?
Tradisk offers a portfolio of over 600 product
variations, compatible with more than 20 tractor
brands. Key features include a wide product range and
integrated production facilities ensuring high-quality
manufacturing processes.
July 2024
16

What makes you superior to your competitors?
What sets Tradisk apart from competitors is its fully
integrated facilities encompassing foundry, CNC
machining, and assembly capabilities. This allows
for superior product quality and stable production
processes.
Are there any investments planned in the short,
medium and long term?
Recent investments have doubled clutch facing
production capacity and ongoing efforts focus on
enhancing production speed and quality through
modern machinery and facility improvements.
Can you give details about your exports? What
would you like to say about your current and target
markets, foreign promotion, participation in fairs,
etc. strategies?
Tradisk operates in 33 countries across Europe, Asia,
Africa, Australia, and North and South Africa.
Regular participation in events like Automechanika
Istanbul and Frankfurt strengthens international
presence and expands customer network.
Participation in the EIMA 2024 fair in Italy further
underscores these strategies.
Are there any topics or issues you would like to
emphasize in particular?
Particularly noteworthy is Tradisk’s growth and
consolidation in the industry, highlighted by the merger
with Hars Tractor in 2022, establishing itself as Turkey’s
largest manufacturer of clutch discs.
July 2024
17

Europe’s auto suppliers navigate turbulencies
July 2024
For two decades, Emrullah Karaca has been
manufacturing brakes. However, due to the impending
closure of the Continental factory in northern Germany,
where he is employed, he’s transitioning to assembling
heat pumps.
Production of the car component at the town of
Gifhorn will end in 2027 and move to Croatia,
the Czech Republic and Wales to keep the costs
“competitive,” according to Continental, which will cut
about 7,000 jobs worldwide.
The relocation means a new career for 49-yearold
Karaca, one of a rising number of workers in
companies supplying Germany’s vital automotive
sector who are being hit by a tsunami of redundancies.
Facing up to the double shock of the end of
combustion engines and rising competition from China,
European suppliers like Bosch, ZF and Webasto have
all announced cuts – which have piled up to the point
where the issue has cast a shadow on the forthcoming
EU elections. Brussels has promised to do more to
boost the domestic car industry and tackle unfair
competition from cheaper Asian rivals.
However, the EU plans to outlaw the sale of new fossil
fuel-powered cars starting in 2035, meaning some jobs
will inevitably become redundant.
The upcoming closure of the Continental plant in
Gifhorn has catalyzed Karaca and the other 800
employees working there to start retraining in another
area. A local heating systems company, Stiebel Eltron,
has proposed taking over the site and retaining some
employees for future production.
“Brakes or heat pumps, it’s all the same to me,”
said Karaca, whose two parents both worked
for Continental at the factory. Making exhausts,
headlights, gearboxes, or brakes has long been a
steady job, with suppliers in Germany alone employing
270,000 people.
However, the technologies they specialize in are
obsolescent, and making battery cars is a less laborintensive
undertaking.
“If today you need 100 people to produce a normal
motor, then with the electric motor, you only need
10,” said Jutta Rump, a business professor at
Ludwigshafen University.
In Gifhorn, Stiebel Eltron offers further employment to
some 300 of Continental’s workforce.
Another 100 could find a home at a nearby Siemens
mobility plant that supplies rail companies.
The remaining jobs are under increasing pressure from
Chinese competitors, who are capturing a growing
share of the market.
The Chinese battery maker CATL has grown in short
order to become the world’s third largest auto supplier,
in a sector still led by Bosch, according to consultancy
Roland Berger.
According to a study by the German carmakers
association VDA, one in three companies in the sector
is planning to move part of its production abroad in the
coming years to cut costs.
The axe has already fallen on 3,400 workers at Ford’s
factory in Saarlouis, west of Germany.
The plant closure will affect a whole network of local
suppliers, whose workers staged a six-day strike in
March to get better redundancy terms.
Among them, 33-year-old Luca Thonet, employed by
Ford supplier Lear, said he would like to stay in the
region, close to the French border.
“But there is almost no industry left in the region, and
the other factories are not in a perfect situation either,”
he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Thonet cited the situation at ZF, the second-largest
German auto supplier, which announced the closure of
two sites in its domestic market.
The ZF works council fears some 12,000 job cuts could
be in the pipeline, with a number falling in the same
region as Saarlouis. Germany may be facing a shortage
of workers, but not all sectors are equally impacted.
In IT, product development or sales, “there’s a lack of
qualified personnel,” said expert Rump. “That’s not the
case in production
22

German auto magazine commends
Togg, calls it ‘Turkish Tesla’
July 2024
Germany’s leading automobile magazine Auto Bild
praised the Turkish-made electric vehicle Togg in a
comprehensive review recently, comparing it to some
of the top models of German juggernauts such as Audi
and Volkswagen and Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Türkiye’s domestic vehicle, Togg has been in the
spotlight of international press in recent months, with
Agence France-Presse (AFP) being one of the latest
to report on the journey of the carmaker from its
production base in Gemlik.
Türkiye is hoping its first major electric carmaker,
Togg, will put the country in the driver’s seat of the
automotive industry, it said, also citing sales of over
20,000 units last year and extensive Turkish automotive
exports to Western markets.
A report published by Auto Bild said, “As the Turkish
Tesla, Togg made its debut at none other than the
technology show CES in Las Vegas.”
Since then it said the carmaker built a “massive”
factory in the Gemlik district of Bursa, “ordered 1,000
charging stations, and begun their installation across
the country.”
It also gave positive reviews of the car’s interior and
exterior.
Six years ago, “a handful of Turkish industrial giants
from key sectors such as mechanical engineering,
trade, electronics and communications joined forces to
build the first car manufacturer of modern times,” the
report said.
“As a mid-range SUV, it aims to be on the same level
as electric cars such as the VW ID4, Renault Megane
E-Tech, Tesla Model Y and indeed the new Audi Q6,”
the report said.
However, the T10X is offered at a more affordable
price than the vehicles in the same segment, it added,
referring to the first model of the carmaker, which
started sales last year. The basic version starts at TL
1.40 million ($43,400).
“This year they are already planning more than 40,000
vehicles and are thinking beyond Türkiye. Instead,
they want to try their luck with the T10X with us from
autumn,” Auto Bild said.
The article also praised Togg’s CEO Gürcan Karakaş,
who grew up near Germany’s Bielefeld and learned his
profession at Bosch, saying: “He knows that the world
does not need another start-up producing electric
SUVs. That’s why he takes things one step further and,
like all visionary bosses, talks about the car as a smart
device on wheels.”
“That’s why the screen in the cockpit is not only larger
and more brilliant than most competitors but actually
spans seamlessly across the entire width of the
vehicle,” it added, highlighting it is being equipped with
various applications such as face ID.
26

Türkiye’s electric car sales jump
257% in first 5 months
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.
July 2024
28

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.
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-overyear.
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 climaterelated
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.
July 2024
30

Turkish auto industry targets new
$39B export peak in 2024
July 2024
Türkiye’s automotive sector is seeking to build on
its peak in 2023 and achieve a new all-time high in
exports this year, according to a senior industry official.
The traditional leader in Türkiye’s outbound shipment
made $35 billion (TL 1,080 billion) worth of shipments
last year, compared to nearly $31 billion in shipments
in 2022, according to the Uludağ Automotive Industry
Exporters’ Association (OIB).
That figure is sought to be lifted to $39 billion, said
Baran Çelik, the head of the board of directors of OIB.
The earlier peak was recorded in 2018, at $32 billion,
before the coronavirus pandemic lowered the figure to
$25.5 billion in 2020.
“2023 was a year in which we once again broke the
record and reached a significant value of $35 billion in
exports, making us the sector with the highest exports
in Türkiye,” Çelik told.
The sector has been the export leader for 17 out of
the last 18 years, except for 2022, he said, before
regaining the leadership in 2023.
Up to 68% of the automotive goods are shipped to
the European Union, Türkiye’s biggest export market,
according to Çelik.
“When you include non-EU countries geographically
within the market, it reaches a market size of over
80%. Of course, the largest market among these
is Germany, followed by other major European
countries,” he said.
“If we look at the top 10 markets we export to, eight of
them are in the European region. In fact, if you include
Russia in the European region, 9 of them are European
countries.”
Exports in January saw a 3% increase year-overyear
to $2.8 billion, which Çelik says reinforces the
achievability of the $39 billion goal he says isn’t “just
a standalone target,” but “emerged as a figure backed
by data.”
“Unless there is a significant deviation, a major conflict
or a disaster ... we anticipate that this year we will
close with around $39 billion in exports, maintaining
our position as the export leader,” he added.
Çelik reaffirmed Europe’s importance for the industry
but emphasized the aim for diversification and growth
in new markets.
“There are significant export demands in the Gulf
countries and the North Africa region, and we are
32

conducting special studies for these regions,”
the OIB chair said. He also added a delegation
of 23 companies that visited Morocco earlier
this month. Çelik said North America has also
been an important market but said they could
not yet achieve the desired results in South
America.
“In recent years, with our Ministry of Trade, we
have determined various strategies for distant
geographies and, in parallel, we organize more
than 10 events covering distant geographies,”
he noted.
“We organize national participation fairs, trade
delegations and procurement delegations.
We have product development (PD) activities
and we have 18 companies in it. We organize
various procurement and trade delegations with
these companies. Our activities targeting distant
countries actually demonstrate our focus on
those markets.”
Çelik also stressed the industry’s determination
to increase engagement with China.
“Despite China being an important competitor
and threat to us, we also see it as a potential
market due to being a major market in many
product groups in that region. In this regard,
while maintaining the high rate of exports to the
European region, we are intensely focused on
new markets to be added without incurring any
numerical loss.”
July 2024
33

Ferrari’s first electric
car to exceed $500K
July 2024
Ferrari’s first electric car will cost at least 500,000
euros ($535,000), a source familiar with the matter told
Reuters, as the luxury automaker prepares to open a
plant that will make the model – and could boost group
production by up to a third.
The Italian brand, famed for its roaring petrol engines,
has said it will launch an electric car late next year,
and the planned price shows its confidence that
ultrawealthy drivers are ready for it, even as massmarket
rivals are slashing electric vehicle (EV) prices
amid faltering demand.
The price tag, which doesn’t include features and
personal touches that typically add 15-20%, is well
above the average sale price of around 350,000 euros,
for a Ferrari in the first quarter of this year, and many
rival luxury EVs.
In a less exclusive segment, Porsche’s electric Taycan
starts at around 100,000 euros.
Ferrari did not respond to a request for comment about
the price of its first EV, or its new plant, which is due to
be inaugurated in its hometown of Maranello, northern
Italy.
The factory – or e-building – is a bold move for the
company, which delivered fewer than 14,000 cars last
year, as it will eventually allow production capacity to
rise to around 20,000, the source said, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Exclusivity underpins the cachet of the brand, and also
its high prices. So any increase in output comes with
risks.
However, Ferrari has shown with its Purosangue
SUV, launched in 2022, that it can achieve success
expanding beyond its traditional two-seat sports cars
and grand tourers.
“There is an increasing demand out there for Ferraris,
and they have room to meet part of it without
compromising exclusivity,” said Fabio Caldato, a
portfolio manager at AcomeA SGR, which holds Ferrari
shares.
Waiting lists for some models can top two years.
“That is not getting any shorter. Being on the waiting
list is in itself a status symbol,” Caldato said, noting
an increase in potential wealthy customers in
emerging markets, such as India and the Middle East.
Second EV model
The new factory in Maranello will give Ferrari an
additional vehicle assembly line and will make
petrol and hybrid cars as well as the new EV, plus
components for hybrids and EVs.
It will be fully operational in three to four months, the
source said.
A second EV model is also under development, the
source said, adding the process was at an early
stage, and that the company might not want to
increase overall production to 20,000 vehicles per
year, at least in the short term.
CEO Benedetto Vigna told Ferrari shareholders in
April that the “state-of-the-art plant will assure us
of flexibility and technical capacity in excess of our
needs for years to come.”
Any rise in output would come with an increase in
models, as Ferrari would stick to its policy of keeping
output for any model within a certain limit, however
successful, the source said.
Rival Lamborghini plans to start selling its first EV
model in 2028. Its CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, told
Reuters it was more important to have the right
product than to be first.
Mediobanca analyst Andrea Balloni said he expected
Ferrari’s new EV would have a high price tag to help
preserve margins, compensating for the development
of the new fully-electric technology and the larger
number of parts sourced externally.
“I expect the new EV to be a niche model, accounting
for just over 10% of annual sales,” Balloni said,
adding the core Ferrari client still preferred petrol
models.
36

China’s EV boom heads to
Europe with bold expansion plans
July 2024
Starting in the 1980s, European automakers steadily
conquered China, racking up millions in sales with little
local competition.
Now, they’ll have to defend their home turf in Europe
from an onslaught of formidable Chinese electric
vehicles.
Chinese EV titans BYD, Chery and Great Wall Motor
(GWM) are preparing a fusillade of product launches
– about 20 over the next five years – and spending
heavily on sales and marketing in their most important
export market, according to Reuters interviews with
18 China auto executives, consultants and industry
experts familiar with the Chinese automakers’
European strategy.
After several years of swiping market share from
foreign rivals in its domestic market, the world’s
largest, China’s increasingly potent EV industry is ready
to take the fight to Europe.
Chinese electric vehicle makers have studied European
car buyers for years, hiring industry veterans and
selecting distributors with extensive local knowledge
as they laid the groundwork to take on Tesla and
legacy automakers, the sources said. BYD and Chery
have already announced plans to manufacture cars in
Europe.
Chinese carmakers are now deploying a range
of tactics to break into the market, ranging from
sponsoring high-profile sporting events to raise
awareness of their brands to building out their
dealership networks and shoring up service-and-repair
operations to protect resale values – a key requirement
of fleet buyers who make up a large share of the
European market.
Chinese automakers’ European sales remain small
because their brands are little known to consumers
– with the exception of MG, a former British brand
owned by SAIC, a state-owned Chinese automaker.
But deliveries are growing rapidly and could surge with
the release of additional models across a broad range
of price segments, industry experts said.
BYD saw its Europe sales triple to 15,000 vehicles
in 2023 after years of exponential EV sales growth in
China and other export markets.
BYD has launched six electric models in Europe and
a spokesperson said the company is rolling them out
across 20 countries. It launched its first three models
in the United Kingdom last year and plans two more
this year, said BYD’s U.K. marketing manager, Mark
Blundell. Great Wall plans to launch a model a year
in Europe for the next five years, two distributors told
Reuters. Chery will launch a total of eight SUV models
under two brands, Omodo and Jaecoo, over the next
two years, said Chery’s European managing director,
Jochen Tueting.
38

By comparison, Tesla has just two volume-sellers – the
mid-priced models three and Y. Both are overdue for
a redesign and are declining in global and European
sales. BYD, GWM and Chery executives told Reuters
that they are looking to plant deep roots in the
European market. Chery’s Tueting said the company
is focusing on all facets of the European automotive
ecosystem, from branding to financing tools to repairs
and resale values for both private and corporate
customers.
“We’ve been doing our homework,” Tueting said.
SAIC’s MG did not respond to interview requests.
Christina Bu of the Norwegian EV Association, which
represents 120,000 EV owners, has met with many
Chinese automakers and noted some have spent
years planning their European strategy. Norway is a
global leader in EV adoption. Bu said Chinese brands
have adapted Chinese EV models for export so far,
but they’re already working on models designed from
scratch to target European buyers. They also don’t
face the same pressure as Western rivals to turn a
profit quickly because they are heavily backed by the
Chinese government, she said.
“Some of these players have spent a lot of money on it
despite not having sold much yet,” Bu said.
China’s auto industry, a mix of state-owned and
private firms, has major cost advantages over foreign
competitors in part because of government subsidies
and the nation’s dominance of battery-minerals
refining. In China, the explosion of EV brands has
ignited a price war, with automakers led by BYD selling
a slew of EVs priced between $10,000 and $30,000.
Those rock-bottom prices have alarmed automakers
and their political allies in the United States and
Europe. U.S. President Joe Biden quadrupled tariffs on
Chinese EVs to 100% in May. The European Union is
currently investigating China subsidies and may soon
raise tariffs on its cars.
However, European auto executives said at a Reuters
event in May that higher tariffs would do little to protect
them from Chinese EVs unless Europe’s industry acts
quickly to match their price and value.
“The window is closing,” said Volkswagen board
member Thomas Schmall. “We have two or three
years.”
So far, China automakers are not deeply undercutting
foreign rivals. Instead, they maximize profits on exports
by charging double or more compared to the Chinese
price for the same vehicles.
Their Europe prices are just slightly below comparable
models from Western automakers, but the Chinese
vehicles are often stuffed with standard-equipment
goodies – such as heated-and-cooled seats,
360-degree cameras and digital dashboards – that
often cost extra in competitors’ vehicles.
Japanese automakers used similar tactics when
expanding into Western markets decades ago.
As they expand exports, Chinese automakers are
implementing complex strategies to increase their
appeal to European customers.
They have improved their safety ratings, they’ve
strengthened repair-and-service operations and
distribution, bolstering resale values, which are
particularly important for people who lease cars.
Leasing companies charge lower monthly payments for
cars with high resale value because they’re worth more
at the end of the lease term when buyers can choose to
either buy them or return them to the leasing firm.
Chinese EV makers’ attention to detail reflects what
they’ve learned about European consumers, said Bo
Yu, Greater China country manager for JATO Dynamics,
a U.K.-based automotive industry research firm.
July 2024
40

“In China, the purchase price is important,” she said.
“But for European consumers, it’s not just price, but
total cost of ownership, including maintenance, service
and residual values.”
Ben Townsend, head of automotive at insurance
industry-funded safety group Thatcham Research,
has been working for the past year with Chinese
automakers. Beyond the obvious moves, like
complying with safety regulations and winning high
safety ratings, Townsend said, the Chinese exporters
are delving into far more complex questions of how to
structure warranties and price repairs in Europe, which
has much higher service labor costs than China.
“There are hard rules on issues like safety that are
clear, and then there are soft rules that aren’t written
down,” Townsend said. “The Chinese are very eager to
learn the soft rules.”
The Chinese players are taking a comprehensive look
at what constitutes long-term success in Europe, said
Toby Marshall, managing director at vehicle distributor
IM Group, who manages GWM’s ORA brand in the U.K.
IM Group has previously launched a slew of new
brands in Britain, including South Korea’s Hyundai and
Japan’s Subaru.
“Selling the car is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
“There is so much more to understand about keeping
that car on the road throughout its lifetime.”
Ensuring ready access to affordable spare parts is vital.
Marshall said GWM’s U.K. ORA distributor can provide
most parts within 24 hours. And SAIC’s MG has said it
will open a second European parts center this summer
to support growing vehicle demand.
Another critical effort is courting fleet consumers,
who control an unusually large share of European
auto sales. For instance, Ayvens, Europe’s largest
leasing company, already has partnerships with BYD
and Geely. Unlike Tesla, which has undercut its resale
values by repeatedly reducing retail prices, Chinese
automakers are working with companies like Autovista,
which conducts extensive “car-to-market” studies to
set optimal residual values for leasing customers.
Chinese automakers’ main challenge is reaching the
majority of European consumers who don’t know they
exist. That gives legacy carmakers more time to stave
off the threat of Chinese exports, said Phil Dunne, a
managing director at strategy consultancy Stax.
“But the Chinese are fast learners,” he said, “so it
won’t last much longer.”
To boost their brand presence, Chinese automakers are
turning to social media, high-profile event sponsorships
and partnerships with established dealer networks.
One of BYD’s distributors in Italy is Gruppo Autotorino,
with 70 retail locations in 24 provinces.
“Our network allows them to reach clients quickly,”
said Chairperson Plinio Vanini. “This was key for BYD.”
GWM and Chery are partnering with existing
dealerships that also sell other established brands.
Chery’s European managing director, Jochen Tueting,
said the automaker, for its Omoda vehicles, chose such
shared locations “so people say: ‘While I’m here, I’ll
take a look.’”
Because of its scale as China’s leading EV brand, BYD
is launching mostly standalone dealerships and rolling
them out quickly.
July 2024
42

Japan automakers including
Toyota hit by testing problems
July 2024
Toyota said it had suspended domestic shipments
of three car models after falling foul of government
certification rules along with its Japanese rivals Honda,
Mazda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
The transport ministry told the companies to stop
delivering certain models within Japan after they
reported failures to follow standardised steps to certify
vehicles for shipment.
On-site inspections will also be carried out, it said.
The latest irregularities came to light after the ministry
told 85 automakers and parts suppliers to report
wrongdoing related to certification applications -- an
edict prompted by a safety test scandal at Toyota
subsidiary Daihatsu.
Daihatsu in December admitted manipulating tests
since at least 1989 and halted all factory operations,
dealing a blow to the Japanese economy. Its
shipments resumed in April after the government lifted
a sweeping ban.
“It is extremely regrettable that additional wrongful
acts have been revealed,” which “undermine the trust
of users and shake the very foundation of the vehicle
certification system”, a ministry statement said.
Toyota said it would suspend shipping of the Corolla
Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross after reporting
inadequate data in pedestrian and occupant protection
tests. The world’s top-selling automaker said ongoing
internal reviews had also found four other models no
longer in production were “tested using methods that
differed from the government standards”.
Toyota apologised to its customers but assured them
that the vehicles were safe to drive.
Honda said it had found wrongdoing in tests related
to noise and engine power, but also stressed that
its vehicles were safe and had passed corporate
standards. In recent months, Toyota’s truck and bus
brand Hino has been hit by a scandal over rigged tests
of its engines in Japan.
Meanwhile, its affiliate Toyota Industries did not
conduct proper output testing for the certification of
three diesel engine models.
Toyota’s board chair Akio Toyoda said in January it
would “take time to recover the trust back from our
customers” and promised to lead a “transformation”.
44

Number of EVs in Türkiye
could reach 4 million in decade
July 2024
The number of electric vehicles (EVs) on Turkish roads
is projected to exceed 4 million units by 2035, while
the number of charging socket points is estimated to
reach nearly 350,000, according to the data compiled
by Anadolu Agency (AA) on.
According to information compiled from the Electric
Vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Projection
prepared by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority
(EMRA), the increase in electric vehicles and charging
points is considered a positive step for developing the
e-mobility ecosystem.
The projection considers increasing the number of
electric vehicles and rapidly expanding the charging
infrastructure throughout the country as a strategic
goal. As a result, Türkiye is projected to reach 4.2
million electric vehicles and 347,934 charging sockets
by 2035.
Electric vehicles are considered to be more efficient,
and that, combined with the electricity cost, means
that charging an electric vehicle is cheaper than filling
petrol or diesel for your travel requirements. Using
renewable energy sources can make the use of electric
vehicles even more eco-friendly.
However, EMRA’s projection includes three scenarios
regarding the number of electric vehicles and charging
infrastructure: low, medium and high.
According to the given projection, the number of
electric vehicles could reach 202,030 in the low
scenario, 269,154 in the medium scenario and 361,893
in the high scenario by 2025.
Moreover, by 2030, this figure is estimated to be
776,362 in the low-case scenario, 1.32 million in the
medium scenario and 1.67 million in the high scenario,
respectively.
By 2035, the number of EVs, on the other hand, is
expected to be 1.78 million in the low scenario, 3.3
million in the medium scenario, and 4.2 million in the
high scenario, meaning most ideal in these terms.
With the rise in electric vehicles and the development
of charging infrastructure, a consequent increase in the
number of charging stations and socket points is also
expected.
In 2025, the number of charging socket points is
calculated to be 34,278 in the low scenario, 46,070 in
the medium scenario and 61,897 in the high scenario.
Five years later, this figure is projected to rise to 85,543
in the first case scenario, 142,824 in the second and
181,274 in the high scenario.
Furthermore, by 2035, the number of charging socket
points is expected to be 146,916 in the low scenario,
273,076 in the medium scenario and 347,934 in the
high scenario.
The projection also anticipates that total electricity
consumption due to electric vehicles will range from
3.98 to 9.39 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2035.
A period of rapid development in the EV ecosystem
has been visible in Türkiye and around the globe, with
projections of top associations, most recently the
International Energy Agency (IEA), indicating that this
trend is on course to continue in the upcoming years.
IEA said in its report that global electric car sales are
set to remain robust in 2024 and could reach a new
record of around 17 million by the end of this year,
compared to 14 million sold last year.
According to the EMRA, the electric vehicle charging
network infrastructure plays a key role in achieving
energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprint as the
foundation of an environmentally friendly transportation
system.
In addition, Türkiye’s renewable energy potential and
advanced energy infrastructure present an important
opportunity to support the widespread use of electric
vehicles.
Compared to the beginning of last year, when 14,896
electric vehicles were present in Türkiye, this figure has
now climbed to 93,973.
46

China frictions steer electric
automakers from rare earth magnets
As tensions mount between China and the United
States, automakers in the West are trying to reduce
their reliance on a key driver of the electric vehicle (EV)
revolution – permanent magnets, sometimes smaller
than a pack of cards, that power electric engines.
Most are made of rare earth metals from China.
The metals in the magnets are actually abundant, but
can be dirty and difficult to produce. China has grown
to dominate production, and with demand for the
magnets on the rise for all forms of renewable energy,
analysts say a genuine shortage may lie ahead.
Some auto firms have been looking to replace rare
earths for years. Now manufacturers amounting to
nearly half global sales say they are limiting their use, a
Reuters analysis found.
Automakers in the West say they are concerned not
just about securing supply, but also by huge price
swings and environmental damage in the supply chain.
This means managing the risk that scrapping the
metals could shorten the distance a vehicle can travel
between charges. Without a solution to that, the range
anxiety that has long hampered the industry would
increase, so access to the metals may become a
competitive edge.
Rare earth magnets, mostly made of neodymium, are
July 2024
48

widely seen as the most efficient way to power EVs.
China controls 90% of their supply.
Prices of neodymium oxide more than doubled during
a nine-month rally last year and are still up 90%;
the U.S. Department of Commerce said in June it is
considering an investigation into the national security
impact of neodymium magnet imports.
Companies trying to cut their use include Japan’s thirdlargest
carmaker Nissan Motor Co, which told Reuters
it is scrapping rare earths from the engine of its new
Ariya model.
Germany’s BMW AG did the same for its iX3 electric
SUV this year, and the world’s two biggest automakers
Toyota Motor Corp of Japan and Volkswagen AG of
Germany have told Reuters they are also cutting back
on the minerals.
Rare earths are critical for the electronics, defense
and renewable energy industries. Because some can
generate a constant magnetic force, the magnets they
make are known as permanent magnets. Electric cars
with these require less battery power than those with
ordinary magnets, so vehicles can go longer distances
before recharging. They were the no-brainer choice
for EV motors until about 2010 when China threatened
to cut rare earth supply during a dispute with Japan.
Prices boomed.
Now, supply concerns are opening a divide between
Chinese EV producers and their Western rivals.
While automakers in the West are cutting down,
the Chinese are still churning out vehicles using the
permanent magnets. A Chinese rare earths industry
official told Reuters that if geopolitical risks are set
aside, China’s capacity can “fully meet the needs of
the world’s automotive industry.”
Altogether, based on sales data from JATO Dynamics,
manufacturers accounting for 46% of total light vehicle
sales in 2020 have said they have scrapped, plan to
eliminate, or are scaling down rare earths in electric
vehicles.
July 2024
49

July 2024
And new ventures are springing up to develop electric
motors without the metals, or to boost recycling of the
magnets used in existing vehicles.
“Companies that spend tens or hundreds of millions
developing a family of products ... they don’t want to
put all their eggs in one basket – that’s the Chinese
basket,” said Murray Edington, who runs the Electrified
Powertrain department at British consultancy Drive
System Design. “They want to develop alternatives.”
BMW says it has redesigned its EV technology to make
up for a lack of rare earths; Renault SA has slotted its
rare-earth-free Zoe model into a growing niche of small
urban cars that do not need extended driving ranges.
Tesla Inc, the U.S. EV giant whose $621 billion market
value is just below that of the top five automakers
combined – is opting for both types of motors.
“You’re pulling your hair deciding whether you think
supplies will be viable in the future and at what price,”
said Ryan Castilloux of Canada-based consultancy
Adamas Intelligence.
His consultancy expects global consumption of rare
earths for magnets to climb to $15.7 billion by 2030,
nearly four times this year’s value.
EVs and wind turbines
Neodymium is a mighty metal. The neodymium
magnets in a typical EV weigh up to 3kg (6 lb), but even
at 1/12th of that weight, a neodymium magnet can
support steel as heavy as prizefighter Tyson Fury, and
will have about 18 times more magnetic energy than
the standard variety, British magnet company Bunting
told Reuters. Even though the pandemic has dented
auto sales, demand for these magnets in electric
vehicles shot up by 35% last year alone to 6,600 tons,
Adamas Intelligence says.
The permanent magnets in hybrid and EV motors cost
more than $300 per vehicle or up to half the cost of the
motor, analysts say.
Analysts at investment bank UBS expect electric
models to make up half of global new car sales by
2030, up from only 4% last year. The magnets are also
in demand for wind turbines, global installations of
which jumped 53% last year, according to the industry
trade group. Over the past two decades, Western
countries largely withdrew from producing rare earth
metals, which involves complex processing and often
noxious byproducts. Today, China’s dominance runs
through the entire production chain.
“The upstream rare earth supply chain, including
mining and processing, is definitely a big concern,
but when it comes to actual RE magnet production,
China has an even tighter grip,” said David Merriman at
Roskill, a critical materials consultancy in London.
Not enough
For many EV drivers, range anxiety may not be an
issue.
“Most people are driving less than 100 miles a day,
so for that you can have a less efficient motor,” said
researcher Jürgen Gassmann at Fraunhofer IWKS in
Germany.
Even so, automakers in the West have adopted
a range of strategies. Some, like Toyota, still use
permanent magnets but have trimmed use of rare
earths, developing a magnet that needs 20%-50% less
neodymium.
Others, like BMW, have undertaken major redesigns:
The German carmaker told Reuters it overhauled
its drive unit to combine motor, electronics and
transmission in a single housing, cutting down on
space and weight.
“Our goal for the future is to avoid rare earths as much
as possible and to become independent of possible
cost, availability and – of course – sustainability risks,”
said Patrick Hudde, BMW’s vice president of raw
material management.
Tesla started in 2019 to combine engine types. Its S
and X models have two motors: one with rare earth
magnets, one without. The induction motor provides
more power, while the one with permanent magnets
is more efficient, Tesla said: Including a rare earth
motor boosted the models’ driving range by 10%.
Volkswagen also uses both types of motors on its new
ID.4 crossover SUV, it said.
The use of non-rare-earth electric motors is set to jump
nearly eightfold by 2030, according to Claudio Vittori,
senior analyst of e-mobility at data analytics company
IHS Markit. But he said permanent magnet motors
will still dominate, mainly because of their power and
efficiency. If the forecasts are correct, it’s not certain
that even these tweaks can cool the market.
“I think we need these innovations to help balance the
really strong demand growth that we’re looking at,”
Castilloux says. “There’s almost no scenario where
supply will be enough.”
50

China premier calls to ‘oppose
decoupling’ at economic forum
July 2024
China’s premier has called for countries to “oppose
decoupling”, as economic tensions simmer between
Beijing and the European Union, a key trading partner
that is preparing to impose new tariffs on Chinese
electric vehicles. Friction between the West and the
world’s second-largest economy has intensified in
recent years, as geopolitical hotspots crop up around
the world and Beijing and Washington compete for
supremacy in advanced technology.
“We should broadly open our minds, work closely
together, abandon camp formations, [and] oppose
decoupling,” said Li Qiang, China’s second-ranking
leader who has been tasked by President Xi Jinping
with managing economic affairs.
Li’s comments came during a speech at the opening
of a World Economic Forum conference known as the
“Summer Davos”, held this year in the northeastern
Chinese city of Dalian.
The premier also called on parties to “maintain the
stability and smooth operation of industrial and supply
chains, promote the liberalisation and facilitation of
trade and investment, guide and promote healthy
global development, and gather powerful efforts for
world economic growth”.
Worries about a disengagement between China and
major economies in the West have rumbled for years
as they clash over a range of issues including trade
and technology.
The United States hiked tariffs on $18 billion worth of
imports from the country, targeting strategic sectors
like electric vehicles, batteries, steel and critical
minerals, a move Beijing warned would “severely affect
relations between the two superpowers.
China is also facing heightened scrutiny from the
European Union, which is preparing to impose
tariffs of up to 38 percent on its EVs by July 4, citing
concerns over unfair competition caused by heavy
state subsidies. The duties will be provisional until
November, when they are set to come into full effect.
European leaders including Commission head Ursula
von der Leyen have insisted the bloc does not intend
to decouple from China, seeking instead to “de-risk” its
market as political confrontations with Beijing mount.
China’s government has continuously denounced
the pending tariffs as “purely protectionist”, arguing
that the success of its domestic EV industry is due
to innovation and supply chain efficiency rather
than government support. Beijing has agreed with
European counterparts to enter into negotiations as an
investigation by Brussels into the matter continues.
52

Türkiye imposes additional 40% tariff
on Chinese vehicle imports
July 2024
Türkiye will impose a 40% additional tariff on imports
of vehicles from China to halt a possible deterioration
of its current account balance and to protect domestic
automakers, the Trade Ministry said.
China is facing increasing trade pressures worldwide
over its growing exports of electric vehicles (EVs),
which many countries claim are being heavily
subsidized by Beijing to support its sputtering
economy. The additional Turkish tariff will be set at a
minimum of $7,000 per vehicle, with effect from July
7, a presidential decision published in the country’s
Official Gazette showed.
“An additional tariff will be imposed on the import of
conventional and hybrid passenger vehicles from China
in order to increase and protect the decreasing share
of domestic production,” the Trade Ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry also said the additional
tariff decision was made taking into account deficit
targets and efforts to encourage domestic investment
and production. The decision said if the 40% tariff
calculated from the price of an imported vehicle is
under $7,000 then the minimum tariff of $7,000 will
be charged. It said the additional tariff (IGV) would be
implemented with customs duties on certain goods
imported from non-EU members and countries with
which Türkiye has no free trade agreement (FTA).
The ministry stated that the decision to introduce
these additional customs duties was made considering
economic and commercial developments as well as
sectoral needs. In 2023, Türkiye imposed additional
tariffs on electric vehicle imports from China and
brought some regulations regarding EV maintenance
and services. The decision in question came at the
time when the country’s first domestically produced EV,
Togg, was due to launch sales in the domestic market.
The government is encouraging more production and
exports to reduce the chronic current account deficit,
which stood at $45.2 billion at the end of last year.
The first quarter of the year, however, saw a decline in
the annualized current account deficit which authorities
attributed to the success of the country’s economic
program. The latest decision follows a similar move
by the United States, which recently increased tariffs
on several Chinese-made goods including electric
vehicles and solar cells.
The local auto market contracted by 10.1% in
May when compared to the same period last year,
according to the recently published data from the
Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association
(ODMD).
Some 100,305 cars and light commercial vehicles were
sold in Türkiye, ODMD said.
In May, Chinese automakers showed varied
performance in the Turkish market, with BYD selling
203 units, Chery selling some 6,208 cars, and MG
selling 2,293 units, respectively.
54

Türkiye’s automotive industry
has been growing dynamically as usual
July 2024
The foundation of Türkiye’s automotive industry
dates back to the early 1960s. During a period of
rapid industrialization and progress, this key sector
transformed itself from assembly-based partnerships
to a full-fledged industry with design capability and
massive production capacity. Since 2003, original
equipment manufacturers (OEM) have invested over
USD 17 billion in their operations in Türkiye. These
investments significantly expanded their manufacturing
capabilities, which in turn led Türkiye to become an
important part of the global value chain of international
OEMs. Meeting and exceeding international quality and
safety standards, today’s Turkish automotive industry is
highly efficient and competitive thanks to value-added
production. As part of its commitment to transforming
its automotive industry, which has historically been a
key economic driver in integrating the Turkish economy
with the global value chain, and to its vision of making
Türkiye an economic powerhouse, Türkiye has
introduced its own locally-developed born-electric car
built upon strength stemming from the country’s longstanding
know-how in the area.
Accordingly, Türkiye’s Automobile Joint Venture Group,
known as Togg, will produce five different models
on a joint platform with fully-owned intellectual and
industrial property rights by 2030.
Leveraging a competitive and highly-skilled workforce
56

combined with a dynamic local market and favorable
geographical location, the vehicle production of 8
global OEMs in Türkiye has increased by almost five
times from 300,000s in 2002 to over 1.3 million units in
2022. This represents a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of around 6 percent during that period.
• Significant growth posted by Türkiye’s automotive
sector led to the country’s becoming the 13th largest
automotive manufacturer in the world and 4th largest in
Europe by the end of 2022.
• Türkiye has already become a center of excellence,
particularly with respect to the production of
commercial vehicles. By the end of 2022, Türkiye was
the number one producer of commercial vehicles (CVs)
in Europe.
• Proven as a production hub of excellence, the Turkish
automotive industry is now aiming at improving its
R&D, design, and branding capabilities. As of 2022,
156 R&D and design centers belonging to automotive
manufacturers and suppliers are operational in Türkiye.
• Notable examples of global brands with product
development, design, and engineering activities in
Türkiye include Ford, Fiat, Daimler, AVL, and FEV. Ford
Otosan’s R&D center is one of Ford’s three largest
global R&D centers, while Fiat’s R&D center in Bursa is
the Italian company’s only center serving the European
market outside its home country. Meanwhile, Daimler’s
R&D center in Istanbul complements the German
company’s truck and bus manufacturing operations
in Türkiye. AVL Türkiye, which opened up its 2nd R&D
center in Türkiye, develops autonomous and hybrid
vehicle technologies.
• Türkiye offers a supportive environment on the
supply chain side. There are around 1,100 component
suppliers supporting the production of OEMs. With the
parts going directly to the production lines of vehicle
manufacturers, the localization rate of OEMs varies
between 50 and 70 percent.
• Türkiye is home to many global suppliers. There are
more than 250 global suppliers that use Türkiye as a
production base, with 30 of them ranking among the
50 largest global suppliers.
• Auto manufacturers increasingly choose Türkiye
as a production base for their export sales. This
is evidenced by the fact that 73 percent of vehicle
production in Türkiye was destined for international
markets in 2022. Türkiye exported more than 950,000
vehicles to international markets in the same year. In
addition, Türkiye has been the number one vehicle
exporter to European markets for around a decade.
July 2024
58

Turkish manufacturing capacity
utilization remains stable in June
The capacity utilization rate of Türkiye’s
manufacturing sector remained broadly
stable in June compared to a month earlier,
according to official data released.
Local manufacturing industry units operated
at 76.3% of their capacity, according to data
from the Central Bank of the Republic of
Türkiye (CBRT).
The seasonally adjusted capacity utilization
rate in the manufacturing industry edged lower
by 0.4 points from May to 76.2% in June.
While the highest capacity utilization was in
intermediate goods at 76.3%, the lowest was
in non-durable consumer goods at 73.6%.
Capacity utilization rate figures are based on
the responses to a business tendency survey
of local units operating in the manufacturing
industry. The central bank said 1,738
companies responded to the survey, and
the data does not reflect the bank’s views or
predictions.
July 2024
60

Used car market shrinks 15 percent in January-April
Second-hand vehicles sales declined by 15 percent in
the first four months of 2024 compared to the same
period of last year.
The used car market shrank in the January- April
period as consumers continued to experience
problems with accessing loans. Another reason for
the steep decline in sales was that companies offered
attractive deals in order to deplete their stocks of
brand-new vehicles, which drew potential car buyers
away from second-hand vehicles.
Some 2.2 million used cars changed hands in the first
four months of 2024, down from 2.6 million a year ago.
Companies in the industry had expected the market
conditions, which started to deteriorate in the final
quarter of 2023, to improve, but those expectations
have not been fulfilled. On the contrary, sales
continued to plunge.
In April, 515,000 vehicles changed hands in the
used car market in April, marking a steep 28 percent
declined from a year ago.
Demand for second-hand cars remains weaker this
year compared with previous years, said Kenan
Belirgen, the general manager at Otomobilen.
Consumers are either buying affordable brand-new
cars or trading their vehicles for low mileage used cars,
according to Belirgen.
Belirgen expects the market outlook to improve in the
second half of the year if interest rates on car loans
come down and consumers have easier access to
loans.
“It is difficult to predict where prices of second-hand
cars would be, but I predict that prices may increase
gradually by the end of the year in line with the inflation
and exchange rates,” Belirgen said.
July 2024
62

Turkish unmanned land vehicle
Barkan adopts new payload system
Various capabilities developed within the Turkish
defense industry are coalescing onto the same
platform, transforming into new solutions for security
forces.
The homegrown ecosystem formed in the defense
industry carries out studies by taking into account
developing technologies and needs arising on the
battlefield and user demands.
One example of those efforts was carried out for the
unmanned land vehicle platform.
New payloads were integrated into the unmanned
land vehicle, Barkan, which was recently added to the
inventory of security forces.
In this context, the 40-millimeter Automatic Grenade
Launcher (RDS40-AGL) produced by Repkon Defence
took its place on Barkan with the Trakon Lite Remote
Controlled Weapon System developed by Unirobotics.
After integration works, Barkan was tested in closed
and open areas with its new weapon and remotecontrolled
weapon system and showed a successful
performance.
Barkan, a “medium class level 1 unmanned land
vehicle,” was developed by Turkish defense giant,
Havelsan, as one of the land-based elements of the
“digital unity” concept.
Barkan, which entered the inventory at the end of
2023 after field tests, can overcome difficult terrain
and harsh weather conditions, as well as eliminate
asymmetric threats against security forces with its
features.
Increasing combat effectiveness in high-risk military
missions, Barkan is designed to provide advanced
security in scenarios requiring agility.
It can reach speeds of more than 13 kilometers per
hour (8 miles per hour) and can operate for more than
five hours.
With the integration of Trakon Lite, Barkan will gain the
ability to carry 7.62 and 5.56-millimeter machine guns
and 12.7-millimeter heavy machine guns.
The 40-millimeter automatic grenade launcher is
capable of firing 40x53 millimeter ammunition.
The RDS40-AGL stands out among its counterparts
with features such as being user-oriented, more reliable
and more durable.
July 2024
64

Volvo’s electric trucks reach
80 million kilometers in five years
July 2024
Volvo’s electric trucks have driven more than 80 million
kilometers or 2,000 laps around the world since Volvo
launched its first electric truck models in 2019. These
trucks have reduced CO2 emissions and at the same
time improved the working environment for drivers
significantly.
New monitoring data for Volvo’s fleet of electric trucks
reveal that they have driven more than 80 million
kilometers in commercial traffic around the world since
2019. Covering the same distance with equivalent
diesel-powered trucks would have consumed more
than 25 million liters1 of diesel and tailpipe carbon
dioxide emissions have been reduced by 68,000 tons2.
“I am happy to see how transport companies are
embracing the benefits with electric trucks in daily
operations. The transport sector represents 7% of
global carbon emissions and battery-electric trucks
is an important tool to reduce the climate footprint.
Thanks to many early adopters we can already now
see the huge potential with this technology”, says
Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks.
Volvo FH Electric in customer operation - one of more
than 3,500 delivered electric Volvo trucks. Volvo’s early
entry in the electric truck segment has built a unique
expertise in electric zero-emission transport – learnings
that are used in the development of Volvo’s nextgeneration
electric offers.
It pays off to be an early adopter – transport companies
with electric trucks have a strong competitive
advantage when being able to offer emission-free
transport to transport buyers Maximizing the utilization
of the investment in both the electric truck and
charging infrastructure builds a strong business case
for transport companies – by optimizing logistics and
driving routes, and sharing charging facilities between
operators The benefits of electric trucks go beyond
the environmental gains – drivers are experiencing a
significantly better working environment with much
lower levels of noise and vibrations
Volvo Trucks’ global deliveries of electric trucks
increased by 256% to 1,977 trucks in 2023 and the
company sees continued interest from customers in
2024. In Europe, more than half of the electric truck
customers chose a Volvo during the first quarter of this
year – Volvo’s share of the electric truck segment was
56%. In the United States, Volvo represented 44% of all
sold electric trucks.
Volvo has so far delivered more than 3,500 electric
trucks to customers in 45 countries on six continents.
During 2023, Volvo Trucks expanded its electric
truck presence as it delivered its first heavy-duty
electric trucks to Latin America, with vehicles going
to customers in Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. Volvo also
became the first truck maker to deliver battery-electric
heavy trucks in Morocco, South Korea, and Malaysia.
“Not only transport companies but also buyers of
transport- and logistic services are signing up to SBTi
– Science Based Target initiative – and are starting
to demand sustainable transport solutions from their
providers. This is yet another driver of the shift to
electric trucks”, says Roger Alm.
Volvo’s electric trucks meets the needs in a wide range
of applications – from urban distribution and waste
management to regional haul and construction. Over
the five years of electrification, Volvo has also built
a strong expertise in optimizing the use of installed
energy, charging and servicing of electric trucks.
From 2019 until today, Volvo Trucks has gradually
expanded its electric offering to today’s range which
includes eight fully electric trucks.
The Volvo electric truck models on offer are the Volvo
FL Electric, FE Electric, FM Electric, FM Low Entry,
FMX Electric, FH Electric, FH Aero Electric and the
VNR Electric. The top seller is the Volvo FH Electric
which recently was selected for the prestigious
International Truck of the Year Award for 2024.
66

Automotive industry’s exports
hit $3.2 billion in May
July 2024
The local automotive industry’s export revenues have
increased 6.3 percent in May from a year ago to $3.2
billion, according to the Automotive Industry Exporters’
Association (OİB).
The automotive industry accounted for 13.4 percent of
Türkiye’s overall export revenues.
“This marked the highest monthly export revenue ever
for the automotive industry,” said Baran Çelik, the
board chair of OİB.
Passenger car exports generated $1.12 billion in
revenues, pointing to a 24 percent increase compared
with May 2023, while exports of buses, minibuses
and midibuses rose 35 percent year-on-year to $242
million.
In May, passenger car shipments to Germany and
the Netherlands surged 104 percent and 138 percent,
respectively. The year-on-year increases in exports to
the U.K and Sweden were 60 percent and 90 percent,
respectively, said the association.
Exports to Israel plunged 100 percent compared with
May 2023.
The automotive supplier sector’s shipments to foreign
markets increased by 7 percent annually to $1.4 billion.
Germany was the largest market for the local
automotive industry, with exports to Europe’s
economic powerhouse rising 14 percent annually to
$486 million.
France came in second with $389 million, down 6
percent from May last year, followed by the U.K. at
$330 million, up 21 percent.
In the first five months of 2024, the automotive sector’s
exports surpassed $15 billion, exhibiting an annual
increase of 5.3 percent.
70