Diesel cars on Turkish roads lose dominance amid rising interest in electric vehicles

Electric vehicles increasingly prominent as world shifts to clean energy, sustainability, while Türkiye follows changing trends in auto industry.

The share of diesel cars on Turkish roads fell to 31.7% as of January, with the green transformation and sustainable efforts shifting automotive trends in Türkiye.

The ratio eased from 34.1% in 2024, according to data from the statistical bureau, TurkStat, and Türkiye’s Automotive Distributors Association (ODMD), compiled by Anadolu.

As of January, the number of registered cars was 16.3 million, 5.6 million of which were diesel in 2024.

In 2020, the share of diesel cars was 38.3%, which fell to 37.6% in 2021, 36.9% in 2022 and 35.6% in 2023.

ODMD data showed that diesel car sales fell 60% in the last four years.

Electric vehicles (EVs) came into prominence in recent years, as the share of diesel cars among all cars on Turkish roads gradually decreased in the last four years, as strong demand for EVs replaced diesel cars in the production lines of automotive firms.

The EU approved an initiative to ban the sales of new gasoline and diesel cars, starting in 2035, as member states approved the legislation would impose strict carbon emission standards on cars and light commercial vehicles from that point.

The German cities of Stuttgart and Hamburg banned older diesel vehicles from entering certain areas in 2019, while restrictions on those cars are also in place in the Norwegian capital of Oslo due to low-emission policies, as Norway is set to become the first country to ban combustion engine cars from the new car market.

The Turkish auto market is also shifting in parallel with global developments.

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