Manufacturing

Hyundai to start building electric cars in Turkey next year

March 11, 2025, 4:28 PM

Workers assemble an i10 at the Hyundai plant in Izmit, Turkey. EVs may use fewer Turkish-made components

BYD and Chery also investing
Proximity to EU and Russia
More components may be imported

Hyundai is the latest in a string of Asian car companies looking to build electric vehicles in Turkey, taking advantage of its proximity to the European Union and Russia.

However, components made in Turkey will almost certainly be used less than they are in the manufacture of petrol cars, analysts have said.

South Korea’s Hyundai announced this month that it would add EV production lines to its 28-year-old factory at Izmit – about 100km east of Istanbul – as early as July 2026.

Two Chinese automakers, BYD and Chery, are investing a combined $2.5 billion in factories for EV and hybrid cars in Turkey. Chery plans to build its plant near the Black Sea port of Samsun.

“Turkey could become a production and distribution hub for Europe due to Turkey’s location and its existing customs union deal with the EU,” Anıl Şentürk, head of the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce’s automotive sector committee, told AGBI.

“Russia is one of the biggest markets for Chinese EVs so, again due to its location, Turkey could become the point of production and export to Russia.

“The same applies for countries in the Middle East.”

Hyundai is already present in Turkey’s EV market via imported cars. It sold 5,000 last year – 5 percent of total EV sales in the country. Homegrown EV manufacturer Togg has one third of the domestic market.

Turkish politicians seeking to create jobs are keen to ensure that cars built in the country use components made in Turkey. At Izmit, for example, 55 percent of the components for Hyundai’s internal combustion engine cars are sourced locally.

However, Erol Şahin, an analyst at automotive consultancy EBS Danışmanlık, said the share would almost certainly be lower for EVs.

“There is the question of side industries for the EVs in Turkey; what will the local share be?” he said. “In cars running on fossil fuels, we have a ratio of 50/50 but for EVs it is only 25 percent.

“There is not much side industry in place for EVs so for the Turkish economy to make real gains and increase its local input, this is an area where development would be needed.”