UPDATE - Türkiye rolls out first electric car Togg as country celebrates Republic Day

UPDATE WITH REMARKS FROM PRESIDENT ERDOGAN, REVISES HEADLINE

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rolled out the country's first domestically-produced electric car C-SUV as the country celebrated the 99th anniversary of Republic Day on Saturday.

Attending the opening ceremony of the Togg Gemlik Campus in the northwestern province of Bursa, where the car will be mass-produced, Erdogan took a test drive.

"We are all witnessing the fulfillment of the 60-year-old dream," Erdogan said, adding "Togg is the name of the project that gives us all the pleasure of establishing this common dream for the strong future of our country."

Türkiye's first electric car Togg will hit the roads in the first quarter of 2023, he said, adding when Togg Gemlik Campus reaches full capacity, 175,000 vehicles will be produced annually and 4,300 people will be directly and 20,000 will be indirectly employed.

The president also said that the country has made a deal with one of the world's leading firms for the production of lithium-ion batteries for Togg in Türkiye.

"We will soon be laying the foundation of a battery factory which will be built on 609,000-square-meter (6.5-million-square-mile) land next to the Togg facility," he added.

In June 2018, five industrial giants: the Anadolu Group, BMC, Kok Group, Turkcell, and Zorlu Holding as well as an umbrella organization, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye, joined hands to create TOGG.

TOGG will produce five different models – SUV, sedan, C-hatchback, B-SUV, and B-MPV – until 2030 and own their intellectual and industrial property rights.

In addition to engineering, design and production facilities, Europe's cleanest paint shop will also be located in the Gemlik Campus, where Turkish auto manufacturer Togg’s electric car will be mass-produced.

The car was designed by Italy’s Pininfarina design company, which has created models for Ferrari and California-based electric carmaker Karma.

Togg has chosen advanced lithium-ion battery technology company Farasis as its business partner for the battery. The vehicle is projected to reach 80% charge in under 30 minutes with fast charging.

It will have a range of 300 kilometers to 500 kilometers (186 miles-310 miles).

The track tests showed it will take the car about 7.6 seconds to speed up from zero to 100 km/h with 200 horsepower, and under 4.8 seconds with a 400-horsepower engine.

The vehicle will be constantly connected to the internet via 4G and 5G.

Togg became the first Turkish brand to receive an iF Design Award in 2021, one of the most prestigious design awards in the world, with its C-SUV model.

The indigenous car will also be supported by the government with tax discounts and incentives.