Automotive Ekports February 2024

EVs boom as Turkish car sales
hit record 1.2 million in 2023
February 2024
The passenger car and light commercial vehicle
market in Türkiye achieved a historic milestone as
sales surpassed 1.2 million units in 2023, according to
industry data published.
The surge was propelled by easing financing
conditions in the first half of the year and pent-up
demand. Yet, borrowing costs soared as the central
bank delivered aggressive monetary tightening after
the May elections.
Passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales in
December exceeded expectations, rising by 37.7% to
158,653 units, according to the Automotive Distributors
and Mobility Association (ODMD).
This took the year-end total to a record 1.23 million
units, marking a 57.4% year-over-year increase. The
earlier annual all-time high stood at 984,000 units in
2016. Throughout the year, sales registered records
every month except for November.
The rise in sales came despite a sharp rise in the costs
of loans for vehicles after seven successive months of
interest rate hikes by the central bank aimed at cooling
demand and stemming inflation that neared 65%.
Since June, the bank hiked its benchmark policy rate
by 3,400 basis points to 42.5%, after the new economy
administration orchestrated a shift from a yearslong
policy of low borrowing costs after the May vote.
According to ODMD data, passenger car sales
increased by 63.2% throughout the year, reaching
967,341 units, while the light commercial vehicle
market saw a 39.2% increase, reaching 265,924 units.
In a breakthrough, electric vehicle (EV) sales
constituted 6.8% of the total sales in 2023, according
to the ODMD data.
The record share was driven by the first homegrown
EV brand Togg, and the entry of new players like
Tesla. The course of the year saw electric cars’ share
in monthly sales surpass 10% in August, compared
to just 2% in April. EV sales in December surged by
643% compared to the previous year, totaling 11,289
units, the data showed. In December alone, they
comprised 9% of total car sales.
Sales throughout the year reached a record of
65,562 units. Togg topped the list and delivered
19,583 of these, while Tesla, entering the market in
April, achieved approximately 12,150 sales. Chinese
automaker BYD, which started operations in Türkiye in
November, delivered 839 units.
Togg is currently producing a fully electric C-segment
SUV. The brand launched the production of its T10X in
October 2022 before it started deliveries in April 2023.
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