The Growing Boom in Electric Vehicle Sales

I’ve had a longstanding interest in electric vehicles. Because of this interest, Hitit Solar, of which I am a founder, sponsored the ITU Solar Car Team (ITU GAE) in 2012. You may recall that Burcu Çetinkaya, the sensational female pilot of the time, was so kind to me that she drove the ITU GAE-designed vehicle from ITU to the bridge exit at an event we organized to support ITU students. Afterward, a friend from that team took over the vehicle and drove it all the way to Ankara without refueling. The then-Minister of Energy welcomed ITU GAE to Ankara and heralded the start of a new era. This event was covered extensively in the newspapers of the time. Frankly, it was a very beneficial event in raising awareness about solar-electric vehicles. Our fellow ITU students were delighted to see their efforts recognized in this way.

I was also the buyer of one of the first 200 Renault Fluence electric vehicles to arrive in Turkey in 2013. We even filmed a video about it back then. Here are the images from 9-10 years ago:

They were stopping me on the road and asking me questions.

Back then, people who saw my electric car couldn’t believe their eyes. They would stop me on the road and examine it. They would ask me for detailed information, then say, “Oh no, this will just stay on the road,” and then they would prejudge the car and discredit it. Still, I remember convincing a few really smart, educated friends who knew what they were doing and wanted to buy an electric car. They also told me that while they had some issues after buying an electric car, they were happy with their decision, saying they were happy with it, at least it saved them gas money.

I’ve also written several articles since then about my interest in electric vehicles, which has continued since 2012, and I’ve even covered this topic in some of my blog posts. Let me share some links to articles and excerpts I’ve written about electric vehicles in the past. I recommend reading them if you have the time (in chronological order):

https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/solar-elektrikli-araclar-ve-ituye-keyifli-bir-hafta-sonu-ziyareti  (15 October 2012)

https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/sikca-sorulan-sorulara-cevaplarim-6  (18 September 2018 – Question 54)

https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/ulasimin-yakin-gelecegi-solar-elektrikli-araclar  (25 December 2018)

I once posted this photo on Facebook, taken in front of my first electric vehicle, a Renault Fluence, in 2013.

The momentum has increased significantly in the past four years.

Now let’s move on to the present day. Particularly after the pandemic, which began in 2020 and subsided towards the end of 2021, a significant increase in electric vehicle sales began. This momentum accelerated further in 2023. Last year, electric vehicle sales, with the addition of new brands such as Tesla and TOGG, reached a significant segment of the market for the first time, accounting for 6.8% of the total automobile market: https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2023-te-elektrikli-araclarin-payi-yuzde-6-8-e-ulasti-p13205

There were other factors that fueled this increasing momentum. For example, the emergence of TOGG, launched as Turkey’s brand, raised awareness among a certain segment. This, in turn, boosted electric vehicle sales. I’m sharing an article on the subject: https://www.milliyet.com.tr/yazarlar/levent-koprulu/elektrikliler-togg-ile-sahlandi-7060787

Since this is the situation in Turkey, let’s also look at other electric vehicle markets around the world. According to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance study, global electric vehicle sales showed significant growth in 2023.

Distribution of Global Sales

According to the organization’s study, global sales, which stood at 10.5 million units in 2022, rose to 14 million units in 2023. According to BloombergNEF data, China accounted for the largest share of the 14 million total sales in 2023, with 8.1 million units.

Europe came in second with 3.3 million units, followed by North America with 1.6 million units. 1.4 million of these sales in North America were in the US market. (See: https://yesilekonomi.com/2023te-14-milyondan-fazla-elektrikli-arac-satildi )

Looking at electric vehicle adoption rates, we can say that the Scandinavian countries are clearly leading the way. This doesn’t surprise me, as Scandinavian countries are progressive in every aspect and are working for the benefit of their country. For example, I can say that the electric vehicle adoption rate in Norway is 91.3%. I should also point out that there are 3 million vehicles in Norway, and the country’s VAT system supports electric vehicles (see: https://elbil.no/ and https://www.ssb.no/en/transport-og-reiseliv/landtransport ). While other European countries don’t come close to this impressive rate, I can say that they are above the global average. For example, in Germany, the proportion of electric vehicles to all vehicles on the market is 24.5%. Let me give you the example of Australia to illustrate the global growth in sales. Even in Australia, a remote corner of the world, 87,000 electric vehicles were sold last year. This accounts for 7% of total vehicle sales.

Significant infrastructure developments

Incidentally, I’m not covering hybrid vehicles in this article because, in my opinion, hybrids are a stop-gap solution, and I personally dislike stop-gap solutions. So, I think fossil fuel users should make plans to switch directly to electric vehicles. The infrastructure has improved significantly thanks to the explosion of electric charging stations. Of course, I think the number of existing charging stations will increase tenfold, but you can already reach many cities in Turkey with an electric vehicle. Here’s the news that the number of electric vehicle charging stations in Turkey increased to 3,790 and the number of charging points (sockets) to 8,001 as of 17 July 2023: https://temizenerji.org/2023/08/02/turkiye-genelinde-elektrikli-arac-sarj-istasyonu-sayisi-3-bin-700u-gecti/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6dP8-Zn9gwMVXktBAh0OVQLWEAAYASAAEgJgj_D_BwE

Naturally, competition in electric vehicle sales has increased. The three leading brands in electric vehicle sales worldwide are: American Tesla, the pioneer of electric vehicles (Tesla produced 495,000 vehicles in the last quarter of last year: https://emobilityplus.com/2024/01/08/teslas-q4-2023-production-hits-495000-vehicles-with-38-yoy-delivery-surge/ ); Chinese BYD, which has advanced significantly and surpassed Tesla with its sales figures, especially with its battery technology; and MG, originally from Great Britain but acquired by the Chinese and achieving great success with its electric vehicles. Of course, the introduction of electric vehicle models by classic German cars such as Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and global brands such as Renault, Jaguar, and Volvo has intensified the competition. Meanwhile, in my opinion, European engineering and vehicles are always good. At this point, the success of European vehicles seems to go hand in hand with the breakthrough they will make in the battery sector.

China is also the leader in this market.

Of course, the Chinese are constantly testing the competition with new brands, and their release of low-priced, high-performance vehicles in particular signals that the focus of electric vehicle competition will shift towards China. Let me give you an example. Australia’s currently most affordable and highly acclaimed vehicle is the GWM Ora (See: https://thedriven.io/2024/01/09/new-leader-in-the-race-for-cheapest-electric-vehicle/ ).

You’ve probably never heard of the GWM brand before. Currently, many models like GWM (which, incidentally, sounds like a copycat BMW) are being released in China, either with ambitious models or at very low prices. Of course, some of these, except for BYD and MG, will succeed, while many will go bankrupt. But one thing is certain: the Chinese will dominate the electric vehicle market, just as they have in the solar energy and battery sectors. Let’s remember some already successful Chinese brands: Cherry, Geely, Nio, Xbank, etc. As a result, vehicles powered by gasoline, diesel, and other fossil fuels are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. This is clearly due to both economic and ecological reasons. If you’re interested in electric vehicles, you can choose one that suits your budget and tastes. While they may seem a bit more expensive than fossil fuels in Turkey, the fuel savings and high performance they offer easily make up for this difference. If price is your primary concern, then I recommend looking at Chinese brands. Some Chinese electric vehicles are even priced below fossil fuel vehicles. If you’re looking to buy an electric vehicle, let me share a data sheet of all the electric vehicles on the market: https://ev-database.org/cheatsheet/range-electric-car