Two Automotive Entrepreneurs Headline CES, the Las Vegas Electronics Fair That Starts Today... Both Point to Türkiye and Vietnam's Entry into this Sector
It's all written down.... The wheel is turning, and history is repeating itself. Exactly a century ago, the invention of the internal combustion engine changed the face of transportation and forced horse-drawn carriages, the undisputed rulers of the roads at the time, into retirement. This transformation was so powerful that the transition period was like a tsunami. A number of companies emerged to make the transition even easier, offering cars of various sizes and prices. This innovation drew the attention of the business world, and there were more than 10 such businesses in Italy alone.
After the initial euphoria faded, innovation became routine, and technology stagnated, undergoing long, tedious years of evolution rather than revolution. As a result, the dominant players slowed their pace; some shut down while others changed their strategy, allowing their competitors to grow in size.
Tremendous Investments
Everything changed in the first years of the new century with the emergence of sustainable transportation, which was supported by all states and international organisations and attracted tremendous investments in this sector that were previously unimaginable. It is nearly necessary to start from scratch in order to navigate this vibrant world. There are growth opportunities waiting to be discovered, and new enterprises are popping up everywhere like mushrooms.
This is what enables Turkish or Vietnamese producers to emerge in addition to their Chinese counterparts. In fact, Türkiye continues to be a contender in the race, given that its geographical position at the crossroads of two continents has rendered it an exceptional manufacturing centre for quite some time. Stellantis, Ford, Hyundai, Renault, Toyota, and Volkswagen are among the numerous corporations that operate independently or in collaboration with local partners in Anatolia. More than 1.5 million vehicles were manufactured in this country as a consequence in 2023. This is more than double the number of Italy, more than the United Kingdom, the same as the Czech Republic, and half the amount of Spain, the promised land of non-native producers. As a result, Ankara's ranking among producing countries is nearly among the top ten. Italy, which was the world's fourth-largest market until recently, is no longer ranked among the top 20. Evidently, this was not enough for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the strong man of Ankara, who put himself and even more at risk in pursuit of establishing an exclusively Turkish corporation. As a result, he "convinced" a number of the most influential financial and industrial groups of the country to launch a joint venture to manufacture automobiles in 2018 (Anadolu Group, BMW Automotive, Kök Group, Turkcell and Zorlu Group all contributed 19 percent each, while the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye contributed 5 percent). Within a mere four years, the nascent Türkiye's Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) unveiled its debut model, the remarkable T10X SUV.
The automobile, whose manufacturing started in the second half of 2022 and is expected to be delivered to initial customers in early spring 2023, made its public debut at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in early 2023. It goes without saying that President Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan were the initial users.
There are several similarities between Türkiye and Vietnam, or TOGG and Vinfast. Launched at the same time, both domestic producers chose a high-tech showcase for their public debuts and asked Pininfarina to serve as a consulting partner.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Following last year's pyrotechnics at CES (the world's largest gathering of electronics), the two young businesses that are participating in this year's show, which kicks off today, unveil significant innovations and updates in their software. The exact number of automobiles delivered by TOGG in 2023 (estimated at about 20,000 units) has not yet been disclosed; nonetheless, production stood as the sole constraint as the popularity of the brand required a customer lottery. Proud to own a domestic product at last, local car drivers were privileged in this initial phase. To meet the export demand, production capacity will be boosted to 200,000 as soon as possible, and the number of TOGGs in circulation in Europe will surpass one million by 2030. "It is a moment we have been awaiting for six decades," stated the President as he introduced himself as the first face of this jewel's advertising campaign. Erdoğan showcased the T10X model on every trip abroad and used it as a business card. Each of his counterparts was presented with a TOGG and persuaded to take a spin on the wheel. Among them were Prime Minister Orbán of Hungary, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, President Kassym Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan.