One more Chinese carmaker enters Turkish market

ISTANBUL

Chinese electric carmaker Voyah, which is operating under the roof of Dongfeng, has stepped into the Turkish market, bringing the number of Chinese carmakers operating in the local market to six.

Voyah has started to offer its Free model, which sells for 4.55 million Turkish Liras, to Turkish consumers.

“There is strong interest in presales for Voyah,” said Yavuz Çırak from Marcar Otomotiv, which distributes the Chinese car in the local market.

Despite the 40 percent additional customs tax imposed on Chinese cars, Chinese companies are increasing their share in the local markets.

According to the data from the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association (ODMD), five Chinese companies sold more than 14,000 vehicles in the first six months of 2023 in Türkiye. This corresponded to a 3.7 percent share in total vehicle sales in the January-June period.

Chery was the top-selling Chinese brand with 9,757, followed by MG at 3,274 and Skywell at 571. DFSK and Leopmotor sold 281 and 200 vehicles, respectively, in the Turkish market in the first half.

Meanwhile, the average list price of new cars in Türkiye increased to 3 million liras in July due to higher foreign exchange rates and a hike in the value-added tax.

Prices of the cars in the A, B and C segments, which account for 90 percent of all cars sold, came to 900,000 liras, 1.22 million liras and 1.67 million liras, respectively.

The average price of electric and hybrid cars also increased to 3.23 million liras and 2.79 million liras, respectively, according to the data from Cardata.

If there would not be any problems accessing loans, around 90,000 to 120,000 new cars could be sold each month until the end of the year, said Hüsamettin Yalçın, the general manager of Cardata, adding that total sales in 2023 may exceed 1 million cars.