Toyota further consolidated its leadership in full hybrid vehicles in 2023. Addressing approximately 7 percent of full hybrid sales in Turkey in the first 80 months, 10 out of 4 vehicles sold by Toyota were hybrids.
Talking about the intense interest in hybrid vehicles of the Toyota brand, Toyota Türkiye Pazarlama ve Satış A.Ş. CEO Ali Haydar Bozkurt also shared Toyota's sales performance in the first 2023 months of 7 and year-end projections. Stating that hybrid technology is in great demand by retail and fleet customers, Bozkurt said, “As Toyota, the full hybrid technology we have gives us great advantages. Both individual customers and corporate companies are increasingly choosing full hybrid vehicles, thanks to lower fuel costs and carbon footprints. In the first 2023 months of 7, we continued to dominate the full hybrid market with a share of approximately 80 percent. However, despite the availability problems in hybrid vehicles, our hybrid models accounted for 7 percent of our total sales in the first 40 months. Our customers know very well the difference between full hybrid and mild hybrid. The fact that every passenger model of Toyota has a full hybrid model allows every customer to choose an environmentally friendly model that they can reach.”
“As Toyota, we will attack in the last quarter”
Evaluating Toyota's first 7-month sales, Toyota Türkiye Pazarlama ve Satış A.Ş. CEO Ali Haydar Bozkurt stated that the sales numbers will increase with the arrival of more vehicles in the last part of 2023 and said, “We achieved a sales figure of more than 2023 thousand in the first 7 months of 28. We had a sales performance that fell far below our potential due to the availability problem, and our numbers were determined by availability. However, in the last quarter of the year, we can state that we will take the offensive as the availability problem decreases. Accordingly, we anticipate that we will exceed 50 thousand units if there are no problems in supply and logistics. If we didn't have problems with supply, we had the potential to sell 40 copies of the Corolla Sedan Hybrid model and at least 30 sales of the Corolla Cross Hybrid model alone. We could have sold 70 cars from these two hybrid models alone, and we had the potential to close this year with 100 cars. In the months when we can find a vehicle, we capture a market share of 10-12%. Each zamAs we have underlined at the moment, Toyota has a 10 percent market share potential in Turkey. In 2024, we also foresee that the availability problem will disappear and the production pace will reach normal levels.”
“Total market is on the way to reach 1 million”
Evaluating the 2023 Turkish automotive market, Bozkurt said, “We predict that the 2023 Turkish automotive market will close at around 1 million with the total of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. In the past, we approached 1 million, but we never reached 1 million. We may exceed 1 million units at the end of the year, but we must also state that the remaining four months are a very critical period. The demand in the fleet and retail market has not yet been fully met. Recently, we have observed an increase in vehicle availability. Although these factors support the growth of the market, the problem of access to credit needs to be resolved in order for high demand to return to sales. Not everyone has access to credit right now. Fleet companies and short-long-term rental companies are also having problems with credit. However, other factors that hinder the growth of the market can be cited as the fact that all vehicles with 1.6-liter engine volume with non-updated bases are in the 80 percent tax bracket, as well as increasing vehicle prices. In addition, the inability of disabled customers to access vehicles is an important factor affecting the market. There has been a serious decrease in the number of models that disabled citizens can access according to the current scales. All of these combined make the market slower. Looking at the general picture, if there is no problem in supply, economy and logistics, the market will reach 1 million units.”
“Hybrid and plug-in hybrids play an important role in the transition to electrification”
Talking about Toyota's approach to electrification, which stands out with its environmentally friendly and innovative technologies, Bozkurt said, “Electrification does not only mean battery electric vehicles on behalf of the Toyota brand. This includes full-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery-electric and hydrogen vehicles. If there is no technological revolution, as I have said about electric vehicles for years, it will take until 2035 for such vehicles to dominate the market with the current pace of development. In order for it to dominate the market, the number of vehicles in the car park should represent 20-25 percent. It will take 2035 to reach these volumes in electric. As you know, Toyota is also working on electric vehicles with different technologies. According to Toyota's latest statement, it will offer electric vehicles with a range of 2026 kilometers in 1000. It is stated that it is possible to charge it in 10 minutes. Such technological developments will lead to faster adoption of electric vehicles. Another noteworthy issue in Toyota's statement was its goal of reducing the cost of batteries by 2030 percent in 50. The biggest cost of electric vehicles right now comes from their batteries, and falling costs of batteries will make it easier for people to buy such vehicles. We can say that this is a revolutionary development. Transitions to electric do not occur at the same pace in every country. Hybrid and plug-in hybrids play an important role in the transition to electric. Toyota aims to manage this business in the healthiest way possible. Because it develops products for the needs of every country and region and puts it into the market. zampresents at the same time,” he said.
