Togg Gemlik Production Facility Opens Its Doors

Turkey’s long-awaited domestic and national automobile is now on the road.

Production of the domestic automobile produced by Togg continues uninterruptedly at its facilities in Gemlik, Bursa.

The facility, which will produce 100 thousand vehicles per year when it operates at full capacity, currently produces 80 vehicles per day.

While the current price list announced for the so-called smart device remains valid, new color works continue in the facilities with the cleanest paint shop in Europe.

“A Vehicle Will Be Produced In 3 Minutes”

Mehmet Gürcan Karakaş, CEO of Togg, stated that the installed capacity of the facility is at a level to produce 100 thousand vehicles per year, and said:

After the vehicles that will follow the sedan coupe, we will increase this to 175 thousand units. 100 thousand units means that we have set up our infrastructure to produce a vehicle every 3 minutes. A company that is just starting out cannot go from zero to one hundred. This process needs to mature. We can say that we are currently in the middle of the road. While we are currently producing 80 vehicles a day, we carry out all kinds of quality processes twice. On the other hand, this process will accelerate with the training process of our new friends we have brought to our team. If you ask next week, this figure will increase even more. It will take us until the end of July to reach full capacity.

“The Battery Is Very Important”

Underlining that one of the most valuable parts of the smart device is the battery, Karakaş made the following statements:

Batteries are important both financially and technologically. In the coming periods, being able to store energy will be very valuable. Whatever the internal combustion engine and transmission were in the old league, in the new generation vehicles, with the development of technology, the battery, the software in the smart devices around the battery and power electronics are very important. We use lithium technology for the battery. We use a mixture of nickel, manganese and cobalt with a ratio of 811. This is a technology that can fit the maximum range in a unit volume. While we are using this technology, the company will develop this technology, the cell, on its way with us. After that, we looked for a business partner that would produce the module and the package together with us.

We decided that we would realize this together with Farasis, and at the end of 2021 we established a company with a 50 percent partnership. Together with them, on the 24th and 25th of every month, there was a feverish work here. We had the first construction start ceremony, and by the end of 2024, Siro’s new manufacturing plant will be operational on the land adjacent to Togg. There are two important things in lithium batteries to stabilize the heat in cells and modules. One is cooling and heating systems. The other is that you need to have the software technology. Therefore, in the batteries of our smart devices, we are familiar with their technology and we can direct and shape them. In the tests we have conducted so far, we have come to this point by conducting tests in cold and hot weather.

“The Cleanest Facility In Europe”

CEO Gürcan Karakaş continued his words as follows:

The bodies, which are automatically transferred here from the body unit, first enter and exit 17 pools. From there, after passing through the ovens, they come to the paint booths. We prefer robots in these paint booths in order to increase the quality, to distribute them evenly and to optimize their use. The facility you see here is one of the most modern facilities in the world. We can easily say that it is the cleanest facility in Europe. We can measure everything that may possibly harm the environment that may come out of here. We burn them at 800 degrees and release them to the outside. We have designed and operate this facility in such a way that the volatile substances are one 9th of the norms of Turkey and one 7th of the norms of European standards. This is really the cleanest facility in Europe.

“We Have A Very Successful Design”

Pointing out that they continue their journey by carrying out the tests of the vehicle step by step, Karakaş said:

We come prepared for all of these tests. We conducted our first crash test in June 2021. You have done the crash test, you look at which parts of the vehicle are deformed and how much. The interior cabin needs to be very robust. From there, we developed our products and brought them to a point. We have a very successful design from the very first moment. Ultimately, these tests are also carried out to pass the certification tests. NCAP, which you mentioned, is an institute, an organization that takes the products of the manufacturers or markets of the countries that are partners there and tests them. You cannot send a vehicle there and ask them to test it. You need to be selling the vehicle you produce there. After it starts to be sold there, they go and buy it and test it. When we physically open up abroad, this test will be possible, but we are ready.

“We Are Planning Abroad”

Karakaş, who also made statements about exporting abroad, used the following statements:

First of all, we have based our expansion abroad on two criteria. First, we need to be successful in our own country. Secondly, there should be more than one model. You need to appeal to different audiences so that people can enter the election basket. Your own organization needs to reach the maturity where Togg is ready to manage international business. When we combine all of these, we see the end of 2024, the beginning of 2025. In this sense, we have prepared our plans. It would not be right to name a country at the moment. In any case, it could be Scandinavian countries. We want to focus on markets where electric vehicles are more appreciated in the market and where they are used without prejudice. After the experience we have gained there, we are targeting Germany and France, the two biggest markets in Europe.

“We Have Services At 27 Points In 7 Regions”

Touching on the issue of charging stations and service, Karakaş concluded his words as follows:

There are rules set by our ministries and TSE. You need to have 20 service points in 7 regions. We completed this in January. We have completed more. We have 27 service points in 7 regions. In addition to these, we have 8 mobile services. They will serve in a way that you can call them by phone when there is a problem. This is a very good number for a starting point. It will exceed 30 by the end of the year. Electric vehicles are very different from internal combustion engines. First of all, it needs much less service. While other vehicles will be serviced 2-3 times a year, this one will be serviced once every 2 years. Because of its connectivity, it also has a structure where you can connect to the vehicle remotely, detect if there is a fault, and send the software. The rules and structure of the game are different in the new world.