Turkey seeks to create its first national automobile brand, and the cars will be electric, the Minister of Science, Industry and Technology,Fikri Isik said on Tuesday.
Isik said that there is a current project underway to create the first national car brand, and tangible steps will be taken in the near future.
"Let me say first that Turkey has missed the train for the classic internal combustion motor technology. We do not see a chance for sustainable competition there. But electric cars present a new window of opportunity,” Isik said.
“We are trying to create a national car brand and we will make concrete efforts soon. Turkey will have a car brand but it will not use internal combustion technology. It will be a long-range electric car.”
Turkey’s project to create a national car brand was first announced in 2011 and attracted the attention of many national and international companies.
But there was no support from domestic or foreign companies, not even from Ford, Fiat, Renault or the several other international car companies which have important production plants in Turkey, for a new brand utilizing the traditional internal combustion technology. There have, however, been expressions of interest for the creation of an electric car brand.