Türkiye’s electric vehicle market expands 46 percent in 2024

ISTANBUL

More than 105,000 electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in Türkiye in 2024, pointing to a 45.9 percent increase from the previous year in a market where total vehicle sales rose only 0.5 percent.

The share of EVs in total sales rose from 7.5 percent in 2023 to 10.7 percent last year, according to data from the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association (ODMD).

A total of 105,315 EVs sold in Türkiye in 2024, including 99,489 pure electric and 4,826 extended-range EVs, ODMD said.

Türkiye’s first indigenous EV brand Togg delivered 30,093 cars last year, which far exceeded the 11,534 cars U.S. company Tesla sold.

In December alone, Togg and Tesla delivered 5,732 and 2,307 vehicles, respectively.

Last month the country’s EV market expanded 82.3 percent year-on-year to 22,017, capturing a 16.3 percent share of total vehicle vehicles.

EVs are estimated to make up 30 percent of Türkiye’s auto market in 2025, Ali Bilaloğlu, CEO of the Turkish auto exporter and distributor Doğuş Otomotiv, said in an interview in late December.

EV sales will increase as more EV models of well-known car brands enter the country Togg boosts its production capacity, according to Bilaloğlu.

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority’s (EPDK) high-case scenario assumes that the number of EVs in Türkiye will exceed 361,000 in 2025 and climb to 1.7 million in 2030 and 4.2 million in 2035.

As the EVs have become more popular with consumers, the country’s charging network has expanded rapidly.

Last month, EPDK President Mustafa Yılmaz unveiled that Türkiye ranks first in Europe regarding socket power and the number of fast (DC) sockets per electric vehicle.

In the last two years, the number of charging sockets rose from only 3,000 to 26,000, according to Yılmaz.

 Vehicle market expands by 0.5 percent 

Data from ODMD showed that total vehicle sales, including passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, inched up 0.5 percent last year compared to 2023 to an all-time high of 1.24 million units.

In 2024, 980,341 passenger cars were sold, a 1.3 percent increase from 2023, while the light commercial vehicle market shrank 2.7 percent to 258,168 units.

In December alone, the auto market expanded 7.3 percent year-on-year with 170,249 vehicles sold.

Passenger car sales, which stood at around 95,000 in November, increased to 134,811 last month, a 6.6 percent from a year ago.

Fiat was the largest player in the market with 138,749 sales in 2024, followed by Renault at 133,596 and Ford at 104,907 units.

Volkswagen and Peugeot sold 96,968 and 73,542 vehicles last year, respectively.

Some 29 carmakers are expected to introduce 83 new model passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to the Turkish market in 2025, when total auto sales are forecast to be around 1.2 million units.