Turkey is set to be the latest player in
the realm of electric vehicles with the unveiling of SUV and sedan prototypes
from the country’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG, which stands for
Türkiye’nin Otomobili Girisim Grubu). TOGG is a consortium made of five
industrial groups, comprising Anadolu Group, BMC, Kok Group, mobile phone
operator Turkcell and Zorlu Holding, according to Electrek.
The first of two EV models to come from
the state-supported enterprise is a compact SUV dubbed C-SUV, which is
estimated to arrive in 2022. An investment of $3.7 billion (RM15.2 billion)
will go towards the production of around 175,000 electric vehicles annually,
the report said. Dimensions of the SUV model have not been revealed, though Car
and Driver estimates this to be around the size of a Mercedes-Benz GLC or BMW
X3.
The EV models are to be offered with two
powertrain options – the first is a base, 200 hp model with a single motor
driving the rear wheels with 300 km of range, and the second is a dual-motor,
all-wheel-drive setup with 400 hp and more than 500 km of battery range. The
platform used is fully developed in-house by TOGG engineers, the brand says,
with intellectual property rights 100% owned by TOGG.
According to TOGG, the SUV will
accommodate DC fast-charging at 150 kW for its liquid-cooled lithium-ion
battery pack, which can reach 80% charge in 30 minutes. Safety is ensured by a
‘novel crash structure’, complemented by seven airbags as standard along with
comprehensive active and passive safety features. Thus equipped, the electric
SUV will be eligible for a five-star Euro NCAP rating when it is launched.
The 200 hp RWD base model C-SUV will
accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds, while the 400 hp AWD
dual-motor is estimated to do the same in 4.8 seconds. Suspension is comprised
on MacPherson struts in front and integral-link independent suspension at the
rear, with ventilated disc brakes on both axles.
Advanced driver assistance systems on the
C-SUV will give the vehicle Level 2 autonomous driving capabilities, says TOGG,
and this will include a Slow Traffic Pilot function. The vehicle’s flexible
architecture will enable seamless transitions to more advanced stages of
autonomous driving of ‘Level 3 and beyond’, which will be applied via
over-the-air technology.
The vehicle’s connected architecture will
enable it to be permanently connected to the internet without external device
support, and the EV will be in communication with ” all smart devices, homes,
buildings, infrastructure including the electricity grid” and smart cities as a
whole, says TOGG.
The consortium behind the electric
vehicles intends to make the EVs available for sale in Turkey, and it also
plans to become an international brand. Production of the vehicles will be at a
manufacturing hub in Bursa, Turkey, and the factory is expected to be complete
next year with a total of 4,300 staff in its employment.
The sum invested for TOGG’s electric
vehicle programme could be spent over a period of 13 years, according to
Electrek. President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also plans to construct
electric vehicle charging infrastrucure in the country with completion slated
for 2022; in time for the release of the brand’s compact SUV, which will be the
first electric model.
