Turkey has surpassed Europe in the number of charging stations.

The President of the Automotive Industry Association, Cengiz Eroldu, stated that September was the month with the highest automotive industry exports at 3.4 billion dollars, saying, "Our unit exports also showed a 16% increase compared to September of last year, with approximately 90,000 units, which is a positive signal for the end of the year." Eroldu shared his forecasts regarding the future of the sector by evaluating the automotive sector's performance over the past 9 months during a press conference.

PRODUCTION FELL, EXPORTS INCREASED

Stating that there was a 7% decline in total production during the mentioned period, Eroldu reported that exports remained at the same level in terms of quantity. Eroldu explained that total exports continued to rise, reaching 26.7 billion dollars, and said: "When we look at the monthly export figures, September was the month with the highest automotive industry exports at 3.4 billion dollars, which is encouraging. This includes the increasing exports of the supply industry along with the main firms. Another encouraging factor that contributed to this figure is that our unit exports also showed a 16% increase compared to September of last year, which is a positive signal for the end of the year."

THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR'S CONTRIBUTION TO EXPORTS IS SIGNIFICANT

Eroldu pointed out that the automotive industry accounted for 16.2% of Turkey's total exports in 9 months. Highlighting the development of Turkey's and the automotive industry's export revenue per kilogram, Eroldu reported that the kilogram value of the automotive main industry, which was 11.17 dollars last year, has risen to 12.02 dollars this year. Eroldu emphasized that they continue to increase the value they create in the country as the automotive industry.

"WE ARE CLOSELY FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE"

Emphasizing that there is a trend of decline and stagnation in the European market, Eroldu stated that the European market shrank by 18% in August. He noted that in September, except for Spain, major markets also contracted, saying: "France and Italy decreased by 11%, Germany by 7%, and Spain by 6%. So, we see that the decline that started in August continued in September, although not with the same intensity, as September is a larger month. On the other hand, another issue in Europe is, of course, the insufficient sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Currently, in Europe, the market share of BEV vehicles, which was 13.9% last year, has decreased to 12.6% in the first 8 months of this year. The removal of incentives based in Germany has also contributed to this decline. In fact, there is currently a significant gap compared to the expectations made when these decisions were previously taken. Because the forecast at that time was that a 30% market share of fully electric vehicles would be achieved by 2025. It was 14% in 2022, and then it was expected to rise rapidly to 30% by 2025. It seems that this will not happen."

DEMAND FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN EUROPE HAS DECREASED

Eroldu pointed out that there is a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles in Europe. He emphasized that while there is a high investment need, profit margins are under significant pressure in the declining market, leading to a decrease in profitability, stating, "Especially in electric vehicles, profitability is lower compared to other vehicles. In addition, they are also trying to cope with production problems caused by suppliers. In other words, there is a complex web of deep issues for European manufacturers as well. They need to resolve this, but of course, all of this will have some reflections on us in the end. These issues closely concern the Turkish automotive industry, and we are closely monitoring them." he said.

"WE ARE BELOW THE TARGET IN LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES"

Addressing the situation of electric vehicles in Turkey, Eroldu explained that certain targets were set for Turkey with the "Mobility Vehicle Technologies Roadmap" prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Technology in 2022, stating: "The target for 2025 was to achieve a 10% market share in light vehicles. While we have reached a certain level in passenger cars, we are still not there in light commercial vehicles. In total light vehicles, the market share achieved in the first 9 months of 2024 is 7.2%. This is still not far from the target. However, when we look at the fleet, the target for 2025 is 402,000. Currently, we are at 137,000 as of August 2024. Therefore, the fleet has not yet reached the desired maturity."

TURKEY LEADS EUROPE IN NUMBER OF CHARGING STATIONS

On the other hand, when we look at the number of charging stations and charging points, the target was to have 53,000 charging sockets, 30% of which would be DC. Currently, we are at around 22,500, with 36% of that being DC. Our DC ratio is good. Again, when we compare with Europe, the number of charging points in Turkey is in a very good position. Even if we look at it in terms of DC, there are 17 DC charging points per vehicle here, compared to 29 in Europe. More investment is needed, but still, relatively speaking, Turkey does not seem to be lagging behind Europe; rather, it appears to be ahead. This is because the Ministry of Industry and Technology has also acted quickly, providing significant incentives for charging station investments in Turkey. This has accelerated these investments significantly. Now, of course, as the market grows, we expect these investments to continue for more electric vehicles to be sold."

"INCENTIVES FOR FOREIGNERS SHOULD NOT UNDERMINE THE COMPETITIVE POWER OF LOCALS"

In response to a question about the impact of incentives given to foreign investors on domestic producers, Eroldu said: "Of course, no one wants to disrupt competition. No company wants that. Right now, we cannot fully see the scale of the incentives given because no investment incentive certificates have been issued for these new investments. Because there is legislation in Turkey, and according to that legislation, the incentives that can be given are certain. However, I often read in the press that different comments are emerging regarding this, saying 'This will happen,' 'This will be added.' But since there is still nothing definitive on this issue, it would not be correct to comment. Some information has started to be written based on received signals and intelligence, but from a legislative perspective, there is currently a right of about 15% of the installed capacity. This is already open to everyone, meaning every investor can benefit from this, but from what I follow in the press, it seems that there will be more than this. As I said, we need to see the incentive certificate for this, but of course, these should not be at a level that would disrupt competition too much."