OSD president Cengiz Eroldu In his statement, he said, “We are not against Chinese vehicles, but they should come and invest.”
According to the news in the world Cengiz Eroldu, president of OSD (Automotive Industry Association), At the press conference he held, he evaluated the 2023 report card of the automotive industry and shared his predictions about the future of the industry. Stating that China’s aggressive policies in the commercial field in recent years are another important item on the global agenda, Eroldu said that this has multi-dimensional effects on the automotive industry, both for Europe, the world and Turkey. Eroldu, “Of course, China has increased its strength and power in the world automotive industry, especially with the transformation of electric vehicles. Because China’s technology in internal combustion vehicles is not that strong, but when you look at it, today it is the global leader in the world in electric vehicle production.” he said and added: “We have a deficit of 2.2 billion dollars in the automotive sector in the first 11 months of 2023. In other words, we exported parts worth 21 million dollars. In return, we purchased parts and automobiles from China worth 2.2 billion dollars. We see that there is a very negative balance between China and Türkiye in many areas. On the other hand, when we look at it, there is no China in our automobile imports in 2019. It currently gets a 7 percent share, but what did we get from China? When we look at it, 78 percent of it is internal combustion, 1 percent is plug-in hybrid, 2 percent is hybrid and 20 percent is electric. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Technology intervened in the electrical side of this business. But here we see how big internal combustion is and how it continues to grow.”
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Pointing out that some of the rules applied to electric cars coming from China should also be applied to internal combustion vehicles, Eroldu continued as follows:
“Frankly, we see this situation as a risk to the country’s industry, not only in the automotive industry but also in other industries. In our opinion, this is another issue that needs to be managed in 2024, because it seems that it will not be possible to deal with the damage caused by Chinese imports to Turkey’s foreign trade balance with some practices applied only to electric cars. As the automotive industry, we are not against Chinese vehicles, but they should come and invest. So, we invite the Chinese to invest, and the Ministry already has studies in this direction. Chinese investors should come and invest in Turkey. As the automotive industry, we find competition positive, but it is not right to lose this market only through imports.”
Cengiz Eroldu stated that the main market for the Turkish automotive industry will continue to be Europe. Stating that electric vehicle incentives have been abolished in many countries in Europe, Eroldu said, “In other words, electric sales in Europe are not at the desired level and there is also a hybrid demand. There is also demand for internal combustion in certain countries. As you know now, there is an average fleet emission rule implemented by the European Union and imposed on brands. Now everyone is trying to make this calculation and sell internal combustion and hybrid engines in Europe. So don’t see it this way, these are made in Turkey, they will not be sold to Europe anymore. There is no such thing. These will again be sold to Europe and everyone will continue to sell these vehicles within the framework of their own fleet and mix. Because it is not possible for us to find the market in Europe elsewhere.” made his assessment.