Chery

During a recent presentation, Chery International President Zhang Guibing has hinted at the possibility of establishing a manufacturing base in Türkiye, alongside plans for Spain and Italy, as part of the company's European expansion strategy.

The Chinese carmaker has been holding talks with high-level Turkish officials for some time.

The combined sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles grew by 0.8 percent year-on-year in August to 90,134, according to data from the Automotive Distributors' and Mobility Association (ODMD) on Sept. 3.

The share of imported vehicles in local sales has climbed to 70 percent in the first seven months of 2024, whereas this figure was a little more than 59 percent in 2019.

China urges Türkiye to immediately revoke what it describes as "the discriminatory tariffs" imposed on Chinese-made passenger vehicles, the Commerce Ministry has said.

On June 8, the Turkish government announced a 40 percent additional tariff on imported fuel and hybrid passenger vehicles from China to take effect on July 7.

Chinese carmaker Chery has not completely scrapped plans for an investment in Türkiye, one of the company's top executives has said.

Despite the strong sales numbers in the Turkish car market, Chery chose Spain to make its first investment in Europe which led to speculations the Chinese carmaker shelved investment plans for Türkiye.

Türkiye may become a hub for the production of innovative technologies, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır has said.

"We will continue to work for this to happen," Kacır said, commenting on his recent visit to China, where he met with top government officials and representatives from major Chinese companies, including carmakers and Huawei.

Industry and Technology Minister Fatih Kacır has called on Chinese carmaker Chery to invest in Türkiye.

He visited the production facilities of Chery, China's largest automotive exporter since 2012, Kacır wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Dec. 21.

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.