Turkey's Automobile Initiative Group targets the creation of a domestic car brand that will be capable of competing on a global scale, the group's CEO said.
"Our mission is to realize the automobile project with a qualified team of specialists," he told Anadolu Agency.
Mehmet Gurcan Karakas said he has analyzed the financial and technical aspects of an indigenous car project.
"It was interesting that the project is a technology transformation project based on the requirements of the times," he underlined.
Karakas noted that they finalized the project after he started to work with his team on Sept. 1.
The project's partner firms -- Anadolu Group, BMC, Kok Group, Turkcell, and Zorlu Holding -- have appointed Karakas as the group's CEO on Saturday.
As a successful Turkish manager in the global automotive market, Karakas was previously one of the top global executives in technology giant Bosch.
"The indigenous car project's shareholders' trust, commitment, and adaptation impressed me," Karakas said.
In addition to the five partners, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) has 5 percent of the project's shares.
The project's partners were announced in November 2017, and the group's corporate charter was signed last week.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had announced that the mass production of the first indigenous automobile would be either electric or hybrid.
Karakas said: "Turkey's automobile project is achievable with a professional and renunciative work on the strategy," he added.
It is expected that the car will be ready in 2019 and enter the market in 2021.
(Anadolu Agency, 04/06/2018)
