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Turkey plans to produce electric vehicles with a $3.7 billion investment
Bradley Berman
- Dec. 30th 2019 5:51 pm ET
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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week unveiled a couple of all-electric vehicle prototypes that will launch TOGG, a new state-supported automotive enterprise. The first vehicle, a compact SUV, is expected by 2022. An investment of $3.7 billion will enable output of about 175,000 EVs a year. The all-electric SUV unveiled last week used rehashed 2017 designs from Italy’s Pininfarina.
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The brand is called Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG). The consortium was established by five industrial groups: Anadolu Group, BMC, Kok Group, mobile phone operator Turkcell, and Zorlu Holding, the parent of TV maker Vestel.
TOGG’s CEO is former Bosch executive Gurcan Karakas. The company’s COO is Sergio Rocha, who is the former CEO of General Motors Korea.
Specs for TOGG models roughly reflect state-of-the-art EV technology. The visual designs are somewhat generic.
The vehicles are expected to provide no less than about 186 miles in range, although details about battery size are not yet known. There will be a base option with a single 200-horsepower motor in a rear-wheel-drive configuration. A second dual-motor, all-wheel-drive 400-hp variant could provide up to 300 miles on a single charge.
TOGG said the single-motor RWD model will go from zero to 62 mph in 7.6 seconds, while the dual-motor version will take 4.8 seconds to cover the same distance.
The vehicles, including a crossover SUV and sedan, will be provided with DC Quick-Charging up to 150 kilowatts. Automated driving features are also being evaluated.
The group wants to sell the car domestically, and also plans to turn TOGG into an international brand. The factory will be located in Bursa, a manufacturing hub. The factory, scheduled to be completed in 2021, is expected to employ 4,300 people.
The investment could be spent over 13 years. Erdoğan also plans to build EV charging infrastructure in Turkey, making it ready by 2022 in time for the first vehicle’s release.
Major international auto makers — including Fiat-Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Renault, and Toyota — currently produce or assemble vehicles in Turkey.
TOGG plans to offer five different models over the next 15 years.
First Turkish Car Company Plans to Launch an Electric SUV in 2022
The new startup automaker is called TOGG, and its concept vehicles look promising.
By Joey Capparella
DEC 29, 2019
TOGG
- A new car company from Turkey called TOGG announced plans to launch an electric SUV in 2022.
- The top version of the SUV, shown here in concept form, claims up to 310 miles of driving range and 400 horsepower from a pair of electric motors.
- TOGG has only announced plans to sell vehicles in Europe so far, and we don't expect to see these in the U.S. market anytime soon.
. The five-seat interior looks futuristic and relatively luxurious, with a vast array of screens on the dashboard and center console, side camera mirrors with displays mounted on the A-pillars, and decent-looking materials.
TOGG
TOGG also showed a sedan concept that looks even more attractive to our eye, but the company hasn't made any announcements about when this second model will arrive. If we were to guess, we'd think it would use the same platform and electric drivetrain as the SUV, but possibly at a lower price point.
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We look forward to hearing more details about TOGG's entry into the European auto market over the next few years. The company hasn't said anything about expanding to other global markets, though, so we're not expecting to see any Turkish cars in the U.S. market quite yet.
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