New regulations regarding automobile imports have been published in the Official Gazette
September 22, 2025
TRADE NEWS
Summary: With the regulation published in the Official Gazette, an additional financial obligation of 25-30% or a minimum of 6,000-8,500 USD has been imposed on passenger cars imported from countries outside the EU and those without Free Trade Agreements, depending on the vehicle type, in order to protect domestic production and employment; the regulation will enter into force 60 days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Click here for the full text of the announcement published by the Ministry…
“Our Ministry of Trade is continuously working to defend domestic and national production, which contributes to the economy by producing in our country, against intense import pressure and unfair competition, to reduce the current account deficit, and to protect qualified employment. Our import policies are constantly updated, taking into account domestic and foreign market developments, global trends, and especially the rapidly increasing protectionist tendencies in world trade in recent times.
In this context, the automotive sector, with its main and sub-industry production, the added value it creates, its place in exports, and the direct and indirect employment it generates, plays an important and strategic role in our economy, as it does in other industrialized countries.
At this stage, considering the global trends in the automotive market, the changes and transformations in the supply chain, the trade wars that have increased in world trade recently and closely affect our country, and the increasing protectionist tendencies, the need has arisen to protect our automotive sector against the pressure of greatly increasing imports and unfair competition with the necessary measures.
In this framework, in order to protect the market share of domestic production and the employment in the sector in the face of increasing import pressure, and taking into account both the benefit of the sector and the consumer, Following consultations and coordination with all relevant institutions, a new regulation has been introduced regarding the financial obligations applied to the import of passenger cars.
With this regulation, published in the Official Gazette and entering into force, in accordance with World Trade Organization rules and our international obligations, the following applies to the import of passenger cars from countries other than the European Union and countries with which we have Free Trade Agreements:
- For conventional and hybrid (excluding plug-in) cars, 25% or the higher of the minimum $6,000 USD/unit price,
- For plug-in (externally rechargeable) cars, 30% off or the higher of the minimum $7,000 USD/unit price.
- For electric vehicles, 30% off or the higher of the minimum $8,500 USD/unit price.
It has been decided that this will be implemented as an additional financial obligation.
A transition period has also been provided for ongoing import transactions of the vehicles subject to the regulation, and the provisions of the Decision will enter into force on the sixtieth day following its publication date.
Our Ministry of Trade, in consultation with relevant institutions, will continue to produce new policies regarding the automotive sector, which is in a strategic position for developed economies and all industrialized countries, taking into account the benefits of producers and consumers and global trends in the automotive market, and will resolutely take the necessary steps to develop domestic production, employment and exports.”