Automotive Exports February 2023

Automotive
market expanded
6 percent last
year
The combined sales of passenger cars and
light commercial vehicles (LCV) increased
by 6.2 percent in 2022 from the previous
year to more than 780,000.
Passenger car sales grew 5.5 percent
to 593,000, data from the Automotive
Distributors’ and Mobility Association
(ODMD).
The light commercial vehicle market
expanded by 8.6 percent as a total of
191,000 LCVs were sold in Türkiye last year.
In December alone, total vehicle sales
leaped 85 percent from December 2021 to
reach 115,000.
The ODMD reported that passenger sales
rose by 99.2 percent year-on-year last
month to around 87,000, while the LCV
sales grew 55.2 percent to 28,500.
The combined sales of passenger cars and
LCVs last month were, however, 0.8 percent
lower than the 10-year December average.
In December, 1,519 electric vehicles (EVs)
were sold on the local market. Even though
sales soared 252 percent from the same
month of 2021, EV sales accounted for only
1.8 percent of all vehicle sales in Türkiye.
In the whole of 2022, EV sales amounted to
7,7300, showing an increase of 171 percent
from the previous year.
As domestically produced Togg is
preparing to enter the market this year,
electric vehicle sales are expected to rise
to 40,000 in 2023. Hybrid vehicle sales
grew 30 percent last year from 2021 to
64,387, accounting for 11 percent of all
vehicle sales, while in December alone,
sales increased 104 percent year-on-year
to 8,794. The country’s large automotive
industry is optimistic that, despite
challenges, it may increase its export
revenues this year compared to 2022.
The automotive sector aims to generate
$34 billion in exports this year, up from
$31 billion in 2022, said the Automotive
Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB)
earlier. The industry managed to increase
its export revenues by 5.7 percent last
year from 2021, even though it faced
strong headwinds, including the troubles in
Europe’s economy, its main export market,
the chip shortage, elevated inflation, higher
energy costs and the looming recession
risks in the global economy, OİB head Baran
Çelik said.
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