Chinese car brands’ sales in Türkiye plunge in January-June
Taylan Özgür Dil-ISTANBUL
Chinese automotive brands, which are expected to reach 1.3 million vehicle sales in Europe this year, faced significant headwinds in Türkiye due to customs and tariff barriers.
In the first half of 2026, sales of Chinese brands in the Turkish market fell by 39.6 percent year-on-year to 28,602 units, underscoring the challenges these manufacturers faced in maintaining the strong momentum they had achieved the previous year.
As a result of the decline in sales volumes, the combined share of Chinese brands in the Turkish automotive market decreased from 7.8 percent to 5.1 percent over the course of a year, indicating a notable loss of market presence compared with the same period of 2025.
The biggest impact on the decline came from BYD. The brand, which achieved strong sales performance last year with the help of investment incentives, was unable to maintain the same momentum this year because it could not import vehicles due to uncertainties surrounding its investment process. BYD recorded sales of 25,501 units in the first half of 2025 but sold only 6,809 vehicles in the same period of 2026. Its sales therefore fell by 18,692 units, or 73.3 percent, year-on-year.
During the same period, Chery Group’s sales increased from 19,026 units to 19,313 units.
However, sales of Chery-branded vehicles alone declined from 15,346 units to 12,690 units, while combined sales of Omoda and Jaecoo rose to 6,623 units.
The total number of Chinese automotive brands operating in the Turkish market also declined from 10 to seven over the past year.
According to automotive data company JATO, sales of Chinese manufacturers in Europe stood at around 50,000 units in 2020 and increased to nearly 700,000 units within five years. The figure is expected to exceed 1.3 million units in 2026.
In Türkiye, meanwhile, import regulations and additional taxes continue to limit the room for growth of Chinese brands.
Manufacturers effectively face two options: Either remain in the market with internal combustion engine and hybrid models despite the additional taxes, or pursue investment and localization strategies in order to expand their presence in the electric vehicle segment.