Türkiye in 2023 emerged as key player in electric car sales

By Abdulselam Durdak

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye saw 65,562 electric car sales in 2023, surpassing many EU countries and securing the number six spot in the European sales ranking.

According to recent European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) data, the sales of fully electric cars in EU countries rose 48.2% year-on-year to 1.3 million units in October and November 2023.

In this period, Germany saw the highest number of electric car sales in the EU with 469,565, followed by France with 260,864 and the Netherlands with 103,330.

Sweden claimed the number four spot with 100,698 units sold, and Belgium was fifth with 86,823.

Türkiye posted 65,562 fully electric car sales, ranking sixth.

Italy placed seventh with 59,462, followed by Denmark with 52,866, Spain with 45,716, and Finland with 27,435.

Excluding sales of extended-range electric vehicles, however, Türkiye ranked seventh in the list, right after Italy, with 54,273 sales of fully electric cars last January to November.

Türkiye’s total automobile and light commercial vehicle market grew 57.4% year-on-year in 2023, reaching 1.2 million units sold, according to data compiled by Anadolu from the country’s automotive distributors association ODMD.

Automobile sales in Türkiye soared 63.2% on an annual basis to 967,341 units, while light commercial vehicle sales went up 39.2% to 265,294 units.

- Total hybrid, electric car sales top diesel cars in Türkiye

Gasoline car sales ranked first in Türkiye, with 646,385 units sold in 2023, followed by diesel cars with 133,374.

Hybrid car sales racked up 104,804 units sold, and sales of cars running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were at 10,599.

As for fully electric cars, sales reached 65,562.

Including the sales of plug-in hybrid electric cars, a type of car that combines an internal combustion engine with an electric motor, featuring a rechargeable battery that can be charged via an external power source, the electric car sales figure totaled 72,179.

Extended-range electric cars are also included in this categorization of electric vehicles by the country’s Trade Ministry, so the sales of fully electric and hybrid cars in 2023 exceeded diesel car sales with 170,366 in total.

- Fully electric car sales up 844.4%

Gasoline car sales in Türkiye rose 58.1%, diesel car sales 29.1%, and LPG car sales 27.6% on an annual basis in 2023.

As for electric cars, hybrid car sales saw an uptick of 62.8% and fully electric car sales 844.4% in the same period.

- Fully electric car sales market share reaches 6.8%

The market share of gasoline car sales in Türkiye fell from 69% in 2022 to 66.8% in 2023.

Similarly, the market share of diesel car sales plummeted from 17.4% to 13.8%, while the LPG car sales market share fell from 1.4% to 1.1%.

The market share of fully electric car sales jumped from 1.2% to 6.8%, whereas the market share of hybrid cars sales was down slightly 10.9% to 10.8%.

Considering fully electric, extended-range electric, and hybrid electric cars, 18.3% of the total market consisted of electrified cars.

In 2012 there was only a single company in Türkiye selling at least one electric model, but by 2021 this rose to 13, to 16 in 2022, and to 27 as of last October, with the addition of the Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD, according to ODMD data.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim