President Erdogan wants Tesla to build its next factory in Turkey

Musk: Turkey among most important candidates for next factory

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey, the country’s communications directorate said on Monday.

It quoted the CEO of the Texas-based industry leader as saying many Turkish companies are already supplying Tesla and that “Turkey was among the most important candidates for its next factory.” The statement came after a meeting between Erdogan and Musk at Turkish House, a gleaming new skyscraper in New York housing the country’s consulate and UN mission.

Tesla currently operates two so-called gigafactories outside the U.S. in Shanghai and Berlin and is building a third in Nuevo Leon state in Mexico. Musk said in May a decision on a new gigafactory will be made before the end of the year.

Turkey one of the fastest growing EV markets globally, albeit from a low base

The Adamas Intelligence EV Battery Capacity and Battery Metals Tracker shows Turkey is one of the fastest growing markets globally albeit from a low base. In July 2023 more than 5,800 full-electric and hybrid passenger cars were registered in the country, a 12-fold jump compared to the same month last year.

Turkish electric carmaker Togg which only opened its assembly plant in October 2022 is off to a good start with its a medium sized full-electric SUV, the Togg T10X which has found over 1,400 buyers in the three months since its May launch. Siro, Togg’s joint venture with Farasis Energy, supplies batteries to its expanding model line-up.

The T10X was the bestselling BEV in the country in July beating out the MG 4 manufactured by SAIC, China’s state-owned automaker and the Dacia Spring Electric. Turkey also caters to the opposite end of the EV market – in July two lucky Bentley afficionados got behind the wheel of the superluxury brand’s Flying Spur plug-in, while one new Ferrari SF90 Stradale mid-engine PHEV, priced at a cool $600,000, is making its new Turkish owner’s heart beat faster.

PHEVs made up 4% of the market and BEV’s accounted 60% of overall sales during July.

 

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