Turkey Unveils its First Domestic Car

Turkey unveiled its first electric car produced domestically. The first prototypes were unveiled in a magnificent ceremony in the northwestern town of Gebze. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan drove the prototype near the Gebze Information Technologies (IT) Valley.

The experts are planning to make the charging infrastructure of the cars ready in 2022. Nearly TL 22 billion will be invested in this project. Turkey, for a long time has wanted to produce a fully homegrown car with a global brand. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey aimed not only to sell the car within the borders of Turkey but also wanted it to become a global brand, starting with Europe.

President Erdogan unveiled prototypes of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) and a sedan, both fully electric and C-segment models. “The fully electric SUV will have two different engine configurations: 200 horsepower or 400 horsepower.” Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) CEO Gürcan Karakaş announced during his presentation. Turkey’s first domestic car will be environment-friendly and it will not pollute the air thanks to its zero-emission technology.

According to Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, the domestic car project will make Turkish automobile industry increase its exports in a considerable degree. The project has brought together the country’s biggest companies in a consortium that include Kök Group, Anadolu Group, Turkcell, Zorlu Holding, and BMC. The consortium (namely TOGG) was established last year.

The project has been a dream for Turkey. In 1961, the then-President Cemal Gürsel declared his mission to produce an automobile that would meet the needs of the Turkish military for street cars.

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