Cornerstone for First Domestic Car Plant in Turkey Laid Down

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid the cornerstone for the country's first indigenous car plant this Saturday.

He announced that the factory would be finished in 18 months and that the first vehicle would be produced in the last quarter of 2022, TRT reports.

The cornerstone for the factory where the first Turkish car is to be produced, whose prototype was presented in late December 2019, was laid in Bursa.

Erdogan pointed out that it was a realization of a 60-year dream and reminded that the news of the production of the first car made in Turkey had been a major announcement not just in Turkey, but in the whole world, Indikator reports.

Talking about the factory, he emphasized that the complex would fundamentally change the perception of the concept of a factory.

He called it a “huge production complex with different facilities that will radically change the perception of a factory in people's minds.”

Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank said that the first Turkish car would be a smart car and that it would be environmentally friendly. He added that it would also be produced at an environmentally friendly facility.

In late December, Turkey presented a prototype of the first indigenous electric car.

Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) worked on the project of development of the first Turkish car. It was founded in June 2018 when Turkish giants Anadolu Group, BMC, Kok Group, Turkcell, and Zorlu Holding as well as an umbrella organization, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, pooled their resources.

The first model will be from the electric SUV category. The plan is for the production of five models in three different varieties of each model to start by 2030. An annual production of 175,000 cars is planned.

In the first phase, the plan is for the factory to employ around 5,000 workers, whereas, once the production reaches full capacity, it is expected to provide around 20,000 jobs.

Turkey Automobile Joint Venture Group

TOGG

Anadolu Group

BMC

Kok Group

Turkcell

Zorlu Holding

Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Mustafa Varank

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

car plant

car factory

first Turkish car

electric cars

Turkish SUV