22 billion lira ($3.21 billion) are slated to be invested[7] and it is hoped the current account deficit of the economy of Turkey will be reduced by US$7.5 billion,[8] due to reduced oil imports and an even greater positive balance of trade in cars.[9] The CEO said in 2020 that the economy will benefit by 50 billion euros over 15 years by the direct and indirect increase in employment.[7]
Environment
It is hoped to benefit the environment by reducing air pollution in Turkey and greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey.[10]
Design and branding
Italian car designer Pininfarina designed the car based on TOGG's requirements, including a tulip motif.
A factory is being built in Gemlik,[11] with an eventual annual capacity of 175,000 units,[12] mass production vehicles being slated to begin in the final quarter of 2022,[8][13] with a target of a million vehicles by 2030.[7] On 18 July 2020 ground was broken for the factory on the 100 ha (250 acres) site, and construction is planned to take 18 months. When completed, a workforce of over 4,300 will be directly employed in the plant, and about three quarters of the sourcing will be from within the country.[7]
Batteries
According to one report battery cells will be produced by Chinese company Farasis Energy, and battery modules and packs will be made in Turkey.[14] Farasis says the cells will last for 1 million kilometers and can be charged from 10% to 80% in less than 20 minutes.[3] Another report says the cells will come from Germany.[15] The range is said to be over 500 km,[3] and the standard Turkish electrical power socket (which is 230V) will provide a full charge overnight.
Motors
There are single (RWD) and dual motor (AWD) options .[16]
Autonomy and communications
The cars will have level 2 or level 3 autonomy.[17] According to Zorlu the cars will be constantly connected to the internet by 5G.[18]
Safety
The car conforms to the standards of the European New Car Assessment Programme's five-star rating system applicable by 2022.[19] Cars sold in the home market will be speed limited to 180 km/h[18][16](the national motorway speed limit is 125 km/h[20]).
Pricing and competition
Pricing will be similar to competitors C-class electric vehicles.[18] Prior to TOGG the Renault Zoe and BMW i3 were top selling plug-ins.[21]
Sales
The government has guaranteed that it will buy 30,000 vehicles by 2035.[7] Exports to Germany will begin as soon as the car is released in Turkey.[22]
Criticism
The project was criticized by many authors and experts for various reasons. It has been claimed that although Turkey does not lack vehicle production, it does not have sufficient infrastructure for electric cars and it is difficult to complete this vehicle in 2 years, whose factory has not been established yet.[23][24] Although it is estimated that the price of the vehicle will be very high for ordinary citizens compared to the electric SUV segment,[23] the vehicle has not yet announced a price.[25] The vehicle was criticized for being similar to the Hybrid Kinetic K550 SUV concept introduced by Pininfarina in 2017[26] and being produced and brought in Italy.[27] CEO Karakaş stated that despite acknowledging the similarity of the vehicle with the concept of Pininfarina, the vehicles are not exactly the same.[28]
By some writers and social media users, the domestic car was considered an election investment[29] and compared to İmza, another automobile project, which was not realized.[30]
Habertürk writer Fatih Altaylı stated that there is a need for a domestic brand rather than a car factory.[31]