Nearly half of consumers want electric vehicles

ISTANBUL

Turkish motorists’ interest in electric vehicles is growing stronger and they even appear to be keener on buying one than those in advanced countries, including Germany, France and the U.S.

Some 49 percent of Turkish consumers say they will consider an EV for their next vehicle, higher than 42 percent in Germany, 44 percent in India, 46 percent in the U.S, and 48 percent in France, according to a survey, titled ‘Switching on the rEVolution’ by Castrol.

Turkish consumers want to buy an EV not because those cars are less costly but because worries about environment. However, their biggest concern is the availability of charging infrastructure.

Around 88 percent of Turkish participants of the survey say they want to have an EV to reduce pollution in cities. Some 84 percent consider an EV because they believe electric cars have more advanced technology compared to conventional or hybrid cars, while 85 percent say the introduction of new models to the market lure them to buying electric cars. Around 82 percent cite lower emissions.

Some 61 of Turkish motorists believe EVs total cost is lower than cars with internal combustion engine (ICE).

In August, 751 electric vehicles were sold in Türkiye, soaring 342 percent from a year ago. EVs accounted for only 2.1 percent of all vehicles - passenger cars and light commercial vehicles - sold in the country.

From January to August, the number of EVs sold increased by 175 percent year-on-year to 3,283 units, according to data from the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD).

Some 1,489 of those EVs sold have the total battery capacity of more than 160 kilowatt-hours, while 1,794 have the capacify of 160 or less.

In the first eight months of 2022, 34,265 hybrid cars were sold in Türkiye, rising 2.9 percent from the same period of 2021 and accounting for 9.7 percent of all vehicles sold.

Total vehicles sales were down 8.5 percent on an annual basis to 458,446 in January-August.

Switching on the rEVolution is a global opinion research study conducted among 10,000 consumers and 100 automotive executives, exploring level of readiness for the switch from ICE vehicles.

Some 53 of all consumers globally would consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase, while 99 percent of current EV drivers say they would buy an EV again.

In 2021, the share of electric cars in new car sales was 9.6 percent and by 2035 their share is projected to the rise to between 50 percent to 70 percent, according to the survey.

High cost of batteries, availability of charging infrastructure and lack of technical talent are the main roadblocks to the transition to the EVs, the survey said.

Around 66 percent of automotive executives state that the transition to EVs is the number one strategic priority to their organization, while 97 percent of them are confident they will meet the ICE phase-out deadline.

Many governments have set target dates for ending the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040 or earlier, the study noted.