The Turkish electric car will come with an Italian design, a German engine and Chinese batteries, and it is expected to conquer the local and European market.
Whereas, according to several Ankara-based newspapers today, the Turkish National Group of Automobile Manufacturers “TOGG” has finally reached an agreement with a Chinese group, and an agreement was signed to produce batteries for the Turkish electric car, which will be the first of its kind.
The Ankara Daily newspaper stated in a special report that “the Turkish national car designed by the Italian Pininfarina Group and agreed with the German Bosch Group to build the engine, also signed a contract with the Chinese company Varassis to purchase the battery.” “It was signed and now the parts for this car are being assembled one by one.”
Turkish electric vehicle production was expected to improve very soon and enter the market in 2022. But it appears that part of the project has been halted due to the large-scale outbreak of the Coronavirus.
Now, the group of manufacturers is still operating, and the Turkish electric vehicle, designed by the Italians, the German engine and Chinese batteries, primarily, seeks to conquer the local market soon.
National or imported car?
Three years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed, in several speeches, that he expected many “gentlemen” to meet to produce a national car for Turkey.
Erdogan’s signal prompted a group of conservative investors and economic activists to come together and form the first group to try to produce the local Turkish electric car in Turkey.
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leader of the Justice and Development Party unveiled the national production car in a huge ceremony, in an atmosphere full of media hype, describing it as an important saga in the Turkish industry.
As most of the media wrote and talked enthusiastically about this, a few analysts said in the corners and under the lips: “A product designed in Italy and you will get help from others for the battery, and” Another country has built its engine, how can it be locally made? “
But the Turkish National Car Manufacturers Group (TOGG) is not obliged to listen to these words, and in addition to the United States and China, in 27 countries around the world, the design of the car is registered in the name of Turkey so that it is not copied and recognized in the global markets.
The Turkish national car and its importance in the economy in Turkey
Currently, Turkish citizens pay 7 Turkish liras in the regular currency of their country for every liter of gasoline.
Turkey imports its oil resources from abroad, and this strategic fuel is priced at the cost of refining, taxes, distribution and other factors.
For example, a police officer earns a salary of about 4500 Turkish lira, his total monthly salary is equivalent to 640 liters of gasoline! Therefore, not only owning a car and traveling on the street, but also using a taxi is expensive in Turkey, and Turkish citizens basically cannot buy a lot of cars.
Read more about buying a car in Turkey
On the other hand, several types of European and Asian cars, including Toyota, Hyundai, Peugeot, Fiat, Volkswagen, etc. are assembled in Turkey and sold at a reasonable price.
Therefore, the need to produce cars in Turkey is not an economic need, but rather a purely political need.
For decades, building a national car has been an epic national dream of Turkish politicians, and the former Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who was himself a professor and scientist in the diesel engine industry, promoted the idea and belief in the need for a national car.
Critics have criticized the attempt to turn the issue of national car production into a political issue and party propaganda.
Hikmat Cicek, an analyst at Oda TV, wrote: The AKP is also promoting the production of national cars.
Heads of state claim that they will transfer the national electric vehicle to the production line within a year. Meanwhile, it took more than two years to build the German Volkswagen brand’s assembly line in Manisa, Turkey.
How can it take just two years to deliver parts of an assembly line with everything coming from Germany, but a local production line where everything starts from scratch ends in a year?
If you say the same to the lower-ranked Mercedes-Benz and BMW workers, they will laugh at you.
These things remind us of China’s efforts to produce the National Geely car and India’s efforts to produce the Tata Car, which has gathered hundreds of engineers from all over the world.
Much money was spent, and in the end the result was cars that could neither be called patriotic nor attractive to the public.
Another point is we like to end everything in our name. “Like the Italian military helicopters, all of which are manufactured in that country, but in Turkey, we called it the Atak National helicopter.”
In any case, the production of a national ideal domestic car has become an important policy for Turkey, and it seems that the technical features of this car are not inferior to many foreign competitors, and the possibility of welcoming domestic buyers of this electric vehicle is not far from reason.
Special features such as 4G and 5G internet will be used to drive this vehicle, and some repairs will be made virtually and remotely.
Although the AKP government had previously rushed to produce the national car and send it to Turkish roads, it can now be predicted that the unveiling of the car will also become an election event. On the eve of the elections in mid-2023, we will see such action.
