ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday received the key to the country's first electric car, delivered at a ceremony held in the Beştepe district of the capital, Ankara.

The president chose to register the new car in the name of his wife, Emine Erdogan, the second car will be donated to the presidential office, and the third to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Turkey has produced domestic cars in previous eras, but Tug is the first electric car to produce them, and it came on an initiative led by Erdogan.

Amid a state of celebration, a list of 20,177 winners was identified out of more than 10,10 who applied for the T16X on the company's website from March 27 to <>.

The company announced earlier that it would manufacture 12,2023 cars in 20 before raising the number to 10,314. The T50X with a normal range of 55 kilometers was offered in two categories: a starting price of about $ 523,65 for the first category and $ <>,<> for the second category, while the long-range <>-kilometer category offers about $ <>,<>.

TUG is the first locally made electric car in Turkey and came at the initiative of President Erdogan (Anatolia)

TOG meets the public

In preparation for the sale, the manufacturer - within its advertising plan - displayed its cars in various Turkish cities, and received acclaim and demand from the Turks, and in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Al Jazeera Net monitored the display of a model of the smart car in a commercial shopping center, which witnessed an increase in the number of visitors wishing to examine the car closely.

Citizen Mustafa Kucukoğlu expressed his great admiration for the car, and told Al Jazeera Net, "It is very great and wonderful, and befits Turkey perfectly, and I think that everyone will be more pleased when available in the market."

Kucuk saw the car as having an affordable price, preferring a local car to other cars from abroad, and expressed confidence that the TOG project will continue to develop other models of the car in the future. "Compared to other cars of the same segment, the Tog is affordable, almost a third of the price."

For his part, said citizen Abdullah Bichki that the car has a good shape, and added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that it is "a very beautiful car and design wonderful, in addition to the price is cheap compared to other cars."

The manufacturer - as part of its advertising plan - displayed its cars in various Turkish cities (Al-Jazeera)

Confidence in quality

Lokman Karabulut was one of the first citizens who sought to buy the car, expressing his admiration for the model currently on sale, and told Al Jazeera Net that "the price is very cheap, it is the cheapest electric car currently on the market, and I am in the waiting list to buy the car."

KaraBulut pointed out that the fact that the car is local is an attractive factor for the high demand for purchase, in addition to the characteristics and advantages of the car, adding that the manufacturers of this car are the best companies in Turkey, which gives the car the confidence of the buyer.

The TOG manufacturer is the result of an alliance of Anadolu Group, BMC, Koc Holdings, Turkcell Group and Zorlu Holdings, which are leading companies in Turkish industry.

Karabulut expressed his hope to increase the supply of the car in the near future to meet domestic demand and compete in international markets.

Technology Platform

The TOG is expected to have a production capacity of 175,20 units per year. Commenting on the current launch of <>,<> cars, Turkish writer Abdul Qadir Sagai said that the figure almost represents the annual production capacity of the plant in its first phase, and is expected to rise over time to meet the volume of demand considered in the local market.

Sajai added to Al Jazeera Net that "Tog is keen to present itself not only as a car manufacturer, but as a multi-service technological platform, and this is highlighted by the establishment of a subsidiary company under the name of Trugo that will install thousands of charging stations throughout Turkey, as well as providing a digital platform under the name of Trumur based on blockchain technologies, and smart digital services, which makes the car more than just a normal means of transportation."

The digital platform "Truemor" will initially be available within Turkey only while continuing to develop it according to opinions and suggestions.

The Turkish president registered the new car in the name of his wife Emine Erdogan (Anatolia)

Competitiveness

According to Sajai, the Tog has competitive characteristics as a highly efficient electric vehicle and has benefited from significant tax reductions, adding, "In my opinion, the only obstacle for Tog to expand into the local market will be its ability to provide after-sales maintenance services, as well as a manufacturing volume that meets demand and captures a wide segment of the electric vehicle market, which is gaining remarkable popularity."

At the international level, competition is stronger, according to Sajai, who pointed to the strength of competition from China, due to its ability to provide good cars at affordable prices as a result of its control over many supply chains for this sector, in addition to China's capabilities in the field of manufacturing on a large scale.

"It will also not be easy to convince international customers to buy a car from a startup, despite Turkey's history of manufacturing and assembling cars for well-established companies, such as Ford, Fiat, Honda, and Renault," he concluded.