Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated during the Ford Otosan Yeniköy Factory’s opening ceremony that the government aims to push the country to become the electric vehicle battery production hub in Europe by 2030, BNN Network reports.
Turkey’s EV ambition
Turkey is highly determined to become one of the leaders in the global production of electric vehicles and batteries by the end of the decade.
“With the interest triggered by the Togg hitting the road, we march on the path to having a rapidly developing electric vehicle market.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
In that sense, the government intends to focus investments related to the country’s EV advancement. According to Its For Home, the country recently launched its inaugural locally-produced electric vehicle, “TOGG.”
Togg vehicles’ sales have already reached 9,171 units this year to date, while Tesla sold 10,700 units.
“We will also facilitate legal processes in the fields of investment, trade and finance in order to attract direct investments to our country.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Auto production advancement
Hurriyet Daily News reported President Erdoğan’s announcement that Turkey advanced from the 15th to 13th spot in global automotive production in the past five years.
“We have achieved this despite successive global crises. Last year, our automobile exports had a foreign trade surplus of over $9 billion.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
The President further asserted that the country already achieved a total of 70 GWh electric vehicle battery capacity, encouraging the government to further advance as Europe’s battery production hub by the end of the decade.
“As a country which has already reached a production capacity of 70 gigawatts per hour in electric vehicle batteries, we are determined to become the battery production base of Europe by 2030 at the latest.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Turkey EV sales – YTD
The report further revealed that Turkey’s electric vehicle sales reached almost 49,000 units from the January to October period, up 890% YoY. I
This remarkable sales gain enabled the segment to claim a 6.5% market share in the same period. According to the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association’s (ODMD) latest data, the country’s EV sales reported a YoY sales growth of 1,014% to over 9,800 units in October alone.
Turkey’s ambitious goals can significantly aid in accelerating the global shift to more sustainable and cleaner transportation. However, it will surely struggle to compete with nations like Germany and France, which already have huge investments in their respective battery production.
