Charging licence granted to Tesla by Turkey

Last month the energy watchdog for Turkey extended the licence for Tesla, a US-based electric car manufacturer, to continue to operate a network of charging stations across the country.

One of 119 companies in Turkey

Tesla is now among 119 companies that operate charging stations across the country, offering support and charging for electric vehicle (EV) drivers.

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) said: “With charging stations to be installed at several locations, including parking lots, shopping malls and gas stations by licensed operators, electric vehicle owners will be able to receive charging services and will be able to travel more affordably in the face of rising fuel prices.”

Commercially available charging stations are available across the country

In Turkey there are 3,728 commercially available charging stations, including 3,082 slow charging (AC) and 646 fast charging (DC) stations; this is according to the EPDK authority.

New electric car registrations have increased by more than 90% since 2021 in Turkey, according to the EPDK data, which has been boosted by lower consumer tax rates when compared to combustion-engine cars.

The EPDK data showed that as of December 2022, there were 14,896 new registrations of electric vehicles when compared to 7,694 registrations in the same month of 2021.

Tesla begins hiring in Turkey

Although it is not officially in Turkey, Tesla – run by Elon Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur – began hiring for the Istanbul service centre as of December; this is reportedly due to launch in Turkey sometime in the near future.

In May 2018, Musk explained that Tesla had planned to begin their partnership in Turkey later that year, before it was abandoned due to the soaring tariff dispute between Washington and Ankara.

The company has already planned the deployment of Supercharger stations across Turkey and issued a map to show every location of the network.

Electric and hybrid cars across Turkey

The growth in sales has been soaring in interest from consumers in the electrified market, however the share of electric and hybrid cars remains at relatively low levels.

Competition is heating up in the EV world in Turkey as Togg, the first EV brand made domestically, is due to start deliveries country-wide from the end of March.

Togg’s future in Turkey and China’s new MoU

The company began mass producing in late October, and the sales for their first model, called the C-segment SUV, were due to begin in March 2023.

Turkey last week announced that it would be imposing an additional customs charge of 40% customs duty on all electric vehicles being made in China, in an effort to boost the national car project.