Turkey’s very first home-grown car, which is about to be unveiled, was designed by none other than the famous Pininfarina studio, local media has revealed.
For years, Turkey has been hard at work making its first car and is now just days away from launching it in prototype guise.
Daily Sabah reports that the vehicle will be unveiled by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a special ceremony in the Gebze district in the industrial province of Kocaeli. It is understood that Erdoğan will be one of the first people to test drive the prototype and will do so over the nation’s awe-inspiring Osmangazi Bridge.
Responsible for bringing the country’s first car to life is the Automobile Joint Venture Group, formed by five of Turkey’s largest industrialists. It is understood that the vehicle, whose name remains a secret for now, will be an all-electric SUV capable of charging its battery pack in approximately 10 hours through a normal household socket or as little as 30 minutes via a dedicated fast charger.
A Long Time Coming: Turkey’s Homegrown Car Moves A Step Closer With Joint Venture
Moreover, according to Gürcan Karakaş, the chief executive of the Automobile Joint Venture Group, the company is hard at work ditching traditional satellite navigation systems thanks to a partnership with a local startup.
“We are working on a system that completely eliminates the need for navigation devices in the car,” Karakaş revealed. “This system, which uses imaging technology with augmented reality, is not currently available as a solution. If we manage the production in time, we will use it in our first SUV model, if not, we aim to use this system in our future vehicles.”
Mass production of Turkey’s first car is expected to commence in 2021 with local deliveries starting in the first half of 2022. By 2030, the company wants to be building five models.
Automobile Joint Venture Group chief executive Gürcan Karakaş