Istanbul October 29 2022: Turkey will roll out its first domestically-produced electric vehicle at a ceremony on Saturday as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to highlight economic successes ahead of elections next year.
The ruling party wants to show off major projects ahead of elections scheduled for June 2023, to contrast with the country’s deepening economic woes amid soaring inflation driven by the central bank’s unorthodox interest-rate cuts. Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group, or Togg, a consortium of local companies, plans to invest 22 billion liras ($1.2 billion) in the project and to produce 175,000 cars a year.
Turkey Presents Prototypes in $3.7 Billion Car Project
The state has backed the project with tax cuts, free land, low borrowing costs and a government purchase guarantee of 30,000 vehicles a year until the end of 2035. Car prices have skyrocketed this year due to inflation but Togg’s price has not been revealed yet.
Car sales fell 8.2% in the first nine months of 2022 from the same period last year, according to industry association ODD. The slump was driven by the lira’s 28% drop against the dollar so far this year, making it the second-worst performer in emerging markets.
But the decline in the lira has helped boost exports. Turkey is an important production automotive hub and a major exporter to Europe. Major carmakers including Ford, Toyota and Mercedes Benz have factories in the country. In September, Turkey’s automotive production rose 20.5% as auto exports climbed 11.3% yearly in dollar terms.
‘Political’ Project
The Togg is not Turkey’s first domestically produced car. Back in 1961, Turkish engineers produced four Devrim cars, which like the Togg, debuted on Republic Day at a ceremony presided over by the president. But the car never made it past the prototype stage.
The new electric vehicle has been in development since 2018. Anadolu Grubu, BMC, Turkcell and Vestel Elektronik each own 23% of the joint venture, with the remainder owned by a business lobby. The first car to leave the production line will be a small SUV, with four other models to follow in the future.
The Togg, which was designed by Italy’s Pininfarina SpA, will be built from 65% locally-made parts by 2025, the company said, up from 51% initially. The company has said plans to produce 1 million cars by 2030, and that the project will contribute $50 billion to the Turkish economy over the next 15 years.
But opposition parties have slammed what they argue is the project’s overtly political nature. Leaders such as CHP’s Kemal Kilicdaroglu and IYI Party’s Meral Aksener have declined to attend the ceremony.
“The Togg Project has become a political show,” said CHP Spokesperson Faik Oztrak.
