The Turkish Ministry of Commerce recently issued a new decree aimed at strengthening service support requirements for imported electric vehicles. Under this regulation, all car companies exporting electric vehicles to Turkey must establish at least 140 authorized service stations in the country and ensure that these services are evenly distributed throughout Turkey.

The measure is widely viewed as a response to Turkey’s increased imports of Chinese electric vehicles. The rapid growth of Chinese electric vehicles in the Turkish market has attracted the Turkish government’s concern. It is that in the 10 months prior to 2023, China’s electric vehicle exports to Turkey are worth as much as $1.84 billion, which is twice as much as the total annual exports in 2022.

This is another measure taken against Chinese electric vehicles after the EU launched a counter-subsidy investigation.It is worth noting that imports from EU countries that have signed a free trade agreement with Turkey are not restricted by the decree.

Relevant automakers are required to comply with this new regulation by the end of this month, although for many companies this is a task that is almost impossible to accomplish.

Ismail Elguna, Managing Director of Biady Turkish Company, said Biady plans to establish an authorized service network across the country and has signed contracts with dealers, warning that if the regulation is implemented as planned, imported products may need to wait months at the border.

China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman Xiao Dong said on December 7 that the EU's counter-subsidy investigation did not meet the interests of China and Europe's automotive industry, seriously disrupted and distorted the global automotive industry supply chain, including the EU, and could have a negative impact on China-European economic and trade relations.