Turkey aims to create world’s competitive automobile

By Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Automobile Initiative Group targets to create a brand which will be capable to compete in the 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.

Karakas said that he has analyzed the financial and technical aspects of 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 put into final form the project after he started to work with his team on the first of September.

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 one of the top global executives in technology giant Bosch, previously.

"The indigenous car project's shareholders' trust, commitment, and adaptation impressed me," Karakas said.

Beside the five partners, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) has five percent of shares.

The project's partners were announced in November 2017, and the group's corporate charter was signed last week.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has 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 working on the strategy," he added.

It was expected that the car would be ready in 2019 and enter the market in 2021.

*Gokhan Ergocun contributed to this story from Ankara