OYDER (Automotive Authorized Dealers Association) made a statement about the electric vehicle regulation that confused the automobile industry.
If you missed it last week Official newspaper A notification was made and for brands that will sell cars in Turkey, TSE certified service that they will establish themselves And call center obligation It was announced that it would be brought. In this regard, the Ministry of Commerce “NEW REGULATION THAT PROTECTS CONSUMERS IN ELECTRIC CAR SALES HAS BEEN IN EFFECT” Officially under the title: had conveyed: “Necessary updates to the Import Communiqués prepared based on the import regime decision are made in consultation with the international agreements to which we are a party, institutions related to consumer safety and protection of public health. In this context, the “Permission Certificate” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Technology is required only for the import of other vehicles driven by electric motors and those not originating within the scope of the European Union and Free Trade Agreement. It was decided with ”.
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With the said Communiqué, in the import of electric vehicles, which have an important place within the scope of reducing carbon emissions and sustainable energy supply, consumer safety, increasing after-sales service quality, monitoring the battery park, tracking the charging station and power that will be needed in our country and managing battery recycling processes more effectively. It is aimed to regulate the electric vehicles in question and the eco system they will create together by introducing the necessary criteria for this purpose.
Our Ministry of Commerce will continue to regulate import policies effectively in line with the objectives of achieving domestic production, employment and consumer protection targets. It is presented to the public with respect.”
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Today’s statement by OYDER (Automotive Authorized Dealers Association) made a strong impact on this issue. Forex here The long statement in the news was as follows: “With the “Communiqué on the Import of Certain Electric Vehicles” issued by the Ministry of Commerce of the Republic of Turkey on November 29, 2023, the import of all electric vehicles, except for vehicles originating from the European Union and imported to our country under Free Trade Agreements, is subject to a “permit certificate” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Technology or the institution authorized by it. has been linked.
A period of 30 days was given to obtain the Permit Certificate and many conditions that were impossible to fulfill within this period were put forward. It has been stated that if these conditions are not met, the import of vehicles will not be allowed and the sales of the affected models of the relevant brand will be stopped in Turkey.
This communiqué regarding the sustainability of trade has caused significant drawbacks for the authorized dealership organizations in Turkey, which have the highest investment level in the automotive sector with approximately 5 billion dollars, consisting entirely of domestic and national capital.
The drawbacks and threats that arise for the Authorized Dealership profession are summarized below:
1. Before the publication of the Communiqué, dealership agreements were signed between distributors and authorized dealers for brands and models that had received import permission to our country and started to be sold, and investments were made in accordance with the standards set by the brand.
Since the import of the relevant brand’s models into our country will be stopped with the new notification, the vehicle supply of authorized dealers will be cut off and trade will be completely stopped until the permit is obtained again. For authorized dealers who have invested in these brands, loss will be inevitable at first, and bankruptcy will be inevitable if the process takes longer.
With the 2nd Communiqué, distributors were required to have 20 TS 12047 and TS K 646 certified services in 7 regions. This provision, which is actually valid for all vehicles imported into our country, has been expanded only for electric vehicles, provided that the distributor is the owner. Authorized dealers, who have been operating in Turkey for more than 50 years, have undertaken and continue this task with authorized services at manufacturer standards.
With the new provision, authorized dealers in all regions will have to compete with the distributor’s investment in the same business line in return for their own investments. Competing in the same field with the employer distributor will result in an inefficient investment for authorized dealers.
3. The newly published communiqué also requires all brands to have a call center with at least 40 employees. Consumers who need service after the sales made by authorized dealers will be directed to the services owned by the distributor through the call center, instead of meeting these needs with authorized dealers.
This will create discrimination in terms of free competition and will cause a significant decrease in the business volume of authorized dealers. The business volume, which will decrease due to the fact that electric vehicles need much less service entrance than internal combustion vehicles, will decrease further due to the call center and services owned by the distributor.
The solution suggestions from OYDER on the issue were as follows:
The communiqué, which is understood to have been prepared by the Ministry of Commerce of the Republic of Turkey with the aim of preventing imports and controlling the sales of electric vehicles, the shining star of the new era, has a result that will threaten the established order and completed investments, apart from this purpose.
Our solution suggestions for the drawbacks listed above for authorized dealers, which have a widespread organization covering all provinces with 1,270 plazas in Turkey, are presented to the public’s attention below:
1. The phrase 20 services in 7 regions owned by the distributor added to the communiqué should be changed to include authorized services, and the agreement made with authorized dealers providing service at manufacturer standards should be evaluated within the scope.
Authorized dealers should continue to do the job they have been doing for more than 50 years, in accordance with the standards set by TSE, and should not be forced to compete with the distributor.
2. A reasonable period of time should be given to both distributors and authorized dealers to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the training and call center conditions introduced by the Communiqué. Since a training curriculum has not yet been prepared by either MYK or TSE, it is impossible to complete these trainings for all employees within the 1 month period given. It is recommended that this period be revised to at least 1 year.
3. The period given for obtaining the import permit document for brands and models that have been sold by obtaining the import permit before the Communiqué should be extended and authorized dealers with completed investments should not be victimized. For this reason, it is recommended that the initial period of the circular be revised to at least 1 year for these brands and models.
We would like to express that we support all kinds of measures that will prevent consumer victimization during the sale and use of electric vehicles, but that it is important for free competition that this view is valid for all electric vehicles, regardless of their origin.
We believe that in this way, the inconvenience caused by some brands that do not have any authorized dealers or a service network in our country, just because the country in which they are produced is outside the scope, will be eliminated.”