Sukru Bekdikhan, President of Mercedes-Benz Automobile Group, stated that the development in the electric vehicle market will accelerate with the implementation of Turkey’s Automobile Initiative Group project (TOGG).
In his assessment to the AA correspondent, Bekdikhan said that with the widespread use of electric or electric-powered cars, a wind of change has been experienced in the automotive sector.
Stating that electric vehicles in Turkey started to become widespread later than in European countries, Bekdikhan stated that the market share of electric cars in Turkey is still low, but the number of users has increased rapidly with the introduction of new models.
Emphasizing that the tax advantage in purchasing is an important incentive for these cars, which are completely nature-friendly, Bekdikhan said, “The issue that needs to be accelerated is the charging infrastructure. The charging infrastructure continues to grow rapidly in our country. The investments of the private sector are promising. As the investments made for infrastructure increase, the tendency towards electric cars will increase and we believe that this will quickly reflect positively on the increase in the number of users.”
In addition to all these, Bekdikhan pointed out that the demand for electric cars will increase with the increase of environmental awareness and noted that the support provided by some countries and cities to electric cars in order to protect the environment will play an important role in the consumers’ selection of electric cars.
Stating that the domestic electric car project TOGG will have a positive effect on the sector, Bekdikhan said, “With the implementation of TOGG, a great acceleration will be seen in the number of charging stations. The Turkish automotive supplier industry will also speed up its investments in electric vehicle components. A transformation will begin that will allow the use of electric cars to spread to large masses.”
Mercedes-Benz Turkey is also in the process of change
Stating that they will differentiate future electric mobility from other manufacturers and create unique alternatives for the user, Bekdikhan said, “Mercedes-Benz car models will soon be equipped with either a fully electric motor version or electric-powered engine options. Globally, we will start to offer electric motor alternatives in the entire Mercedes-Benz car portfolio by 2022. ”
Noting that Mercedes-Benz started the transformation process in electric vehicles with the fully-electric EQC model, which was put into service in 2020, Bekdikhan stated that they aim to increase the diversity with the fully electric EQA model, which will be available in 2021, and the EQS model, which is a combination of technology and luxury.
Bekdikhan pointed out that new challenges and habits await the automotive industry with the widespread use of electric cars and continued as follows:
“Globally, we will begin to offer electric motor alternatives in the entire Mercedes-Benz car portfolio by 2022. These developments will encompass our entire portfolio, from our compact models to the SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle). In Turkey, there will be six electric cars in the EQ passenger car product range until 2022. In addition, we will meet the changing expectations of customers by adding different equipment, engine, and traction options to the existing vehicles. This year we will add new ones to our existing four-wheel-drive models. We will expand our model family by offering the drive system called 4MATIC in our vehicles such as CLA, GLB, CLS, E-Class Sedan, Coupé, and Cabriolet. This year, another innovation of our model year will be the New Mercedes-Maybach S-Class 580 4MATIC.”
Source: AA / Translated by Irem Yildiz