Turkish Leader Unveils Prototypes of 1st Domestic Car

By, 2019-12-28

سيارة أرذوغان

Ankara, Turkey — Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, unveiled a number of electric cars which are produced entirely in Turkey. This accomblishment made him closer to fulfilling a long-held dream of building Turkey's first "national" automobile.

Erdogan presented the SUV and saloon models of the new brand named "TOGG" after a consortium of Turkish companies that will produce them, at a ceremony in Gebze, in Turkey's northwestern industrial heartland.

The president was scheduled to test drive a car across a suspension bridge over the Gulf of Izmit. He offered to put his name down on a possible list for advance orders.

Erdogan: “We are witnessing a historic day, realizing a 60-year dream!”

TOGG cars are expected to arrive to the market in 2022. “We are witnessing a historic day, realizing a 60-year dream,” Erdogan said. “I know that our people is impatiently waiting for the day they can own this car. The Turkish leader has long pushed industrialists to build a domestic automobile as part of his vision for making Turkey an economic powerhouse.

The vehicle is being produced by a consortium of five Turkish companies called the Automobile Initiative Group of Turkey, or TOGG, in cooperation with the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges.

Turkish media reports said the car was designed by Italy's Pininfarina design company, which has created models for Ferrari and California-based electric car maker Karma.

Erdogan said the cars would be produced in a factory to be built on former military-owned land in the province of Bursa. The factory, scheduled to be completed in 2021, is expected to employ 4,300 people. TOGG cheif executive Gurcan Karakas said Turkey hopes to produce five different models of the car within 15 years.