Automotive Exports February 2023
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1
Monthly automotive aftermarket magazine<br />
GROUP CHAIRMAN<br />
H. FERRUH ISIK<br />
PUBLISHER:<br />
İstmag Magazin Gazetecilik<br />
İç ve Dış Ticaret Ltd. Şti.<br />
Managing Editor (Responsible)<br />
Mehmet Söztutan<br />
mehmet.soztutan@img.com.tr<br />
Advertising Managers<br />
Adem Saçın<br />
+90 505 577 36 42<br />
adem.sacin@img.com.tr<br />
EDİToR<br />
Mehmet Soztutan, Editor-in-Chief<br />
mehmet.soztutan@img.com.tr<br />
Enes Karadayı<br />
enes.karadayi@img.com.tr<br />
International Marketing Coordinator<br />
Ayca Sarioglu<br />
ayca.sarioglu@img.com.tr<br />
Editor<br />
Yusuf Okçu<br />
yusuf.okcu@img.com.tr<br />
Finance Manager<br />
Cuma Karaman<br />
cuma.karaman@img.com.tr<br />
Digital Assets Manager<br />
Emre Yener<br />
emre.yener@img.com.tr<br />
Technical Manager<br />
Tayfun Aydın<br />
tayfun.aydin@img.com.tr<br />
Design & Graphics<br />
Sami aktaş<br />
sami.aktas@img.com.tr<br />
Accountant<br />
Yusuf Demirkazık<br />
yusuf.demirkazik@img.com.tr<br />
Subsciption<br />
İsmail Özçelik<br />
ismail.ozcelik@img.com.tr<br />
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Dynamism prevails as usual…<br />
The Turkish automotive industry, which was originally founded for<br />
import-substitution purposes and focused on the domestic market for a long period,<br />
transformed itself into a production base for a number of global models.<br />
In motor vehicles, a large number of EU legislation was adopted. Türkiye has been<br />
continuing efforts to introduce the relevant legal arrangements, and significant progress<br />
has been achieved in this field.<br />
The Turkish automotive industry is one of the four largest exporting and leading investor<br />
industries of the Turkish economy. It is an economically strategic sector in terms of its<br />
significant contribution to the national production and development, direct and indirect<br />
employment and level of technology in Türkiye.<br />
The Turkish automotive parts industry is strong and competitive. It has developed in parallel<br />
with the development of Türkiye's automotive industry both in quality and production<br />
volumes.<br />
The Turkish automotive parts and components industry has now developed to the stage<br />
where it is at a level ready to take advantage of the globalisation and structural changes in<br />
the world automotive industry. A number of firms active in the industry have been named<br />
the "co-designer" in the global vehicles manufactured in Türkiye.<br />
The Turkish automotive supplier industry produces almost all types of parts,<br />
components and spare parts such as engines and engine parts, power train parts and<br />
components, brake and clutch parts and components, hydraulic and pneumatic systems,<br />
suspension systems, security systems, rubber and plastic parts, chassis, frames and parts,<br />
casting and forging, electrical equipment and parts, lighting systems, accumulator<br />
batteries, seats etc.<br />
Our publications, by participating in major international fairs and exhibitions, remain at<br />
the service of those businesses people seeking to increase their share in the increasingly<br />
competitive foreign markets.<br />
Next month, we will participate in Equip Auto Algeria, <strong>2023</strong> to convey the message of<br />
Turkish automotive exporters.<br />
We are convinced that fairs and exhibitions would be instrumental to increase business<br />
opportunities in the automotive industry.<br />
We wish lucrative trade for all participants.<br />
automotiveexport<br />
automotiveexports
Türkiye probes automobile market over<br />
stockpiling, price hikes<br />
Türkiye launched an investigation into<br />
the automobile sector over allegations of<br />
stockpiling and unjustified price increases.<br />
The probe will cover about 260,000<br />
vehicles that were sold since September<br />
last year, the Treasury and Finance Ministry<br />
said in a statement, adding that detailed<br />
information had been requested from 13<br />
distributors and 257 dealerships regarding<br />
the sale process of the vehicles.<br />
Among others, buyers were also requested<br />
to provide information on whether they<br />
made payments for the vehicles in person.<br />
They were also asked whether they<br />
were forced to purchase accessories and<br />
whether the payments for these were<br />
made in person or via bank. The statement<br />
said inquiries were also made about cash<br />
proceeds and potential payments above<br />
list prices. Charges above list prices will be<br />
considered tax evasion, it underscored.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 10
<strong>Automotive</strong><br />
industry targets<br />
$34 billion in<br />
exports this year<br />
Türkiye’s automotive industry aims to<br />
generate $34 billion in export revenues this<br />
year, the <strong>Automotive</strong> Industry Exporters’<br />
Association (OİB) has said.<br />
“Despite the economic slowdown in<br />
Europe, our largest export market, and<br />
changes in demand conditions, we<br />
managed to increase our export revenues<br />
both in December and the whole of 2022,”<br />
said Baran Çelik, president of the OİB.<br />
In <strong>2023</strong>, which marks the centennial of the<br />
republic, the automotive industry targets to<br />
reclaim the title of most-exporting sector<br />
by generating $34 billion in sales to foreign<br />
markets, Çelik said in a statement.<br />
Commenting on the performance of the<br />
local carmakers, Çelik noted that export<br />
revenues amounted to around $31 billion<br />
in 2022. “We lost some $3 billion due to<br />
the euro-dollar exchange rate.”<br />
The industry faced multiple challenges<br />
last year, including the chip shortage,<br />
high inflation, rising energy prices and the<br />
looming risk of global recession, he said.<br />
“Those problems worsened with the<br />
Russian-Ukraine war. However, the<br />
automotive industry succeeded in boosting<br />
its export revenues both in December and<br />
2022 as a whole,” Çelik added.<br />
Last month, exports grew 6.7 percent from<br />
a year ago to touch $3.16 billion, which<br />
marked an all-time-high monthly figure<br />
for the automotive sector and accounted<br />
for 13.8 percent of Türkiye’s overall export<br />
revenues, according to data from the OİB.<br />
<strong>Exports</strong> by the automotive supply sector<br />
stood at $1.12 billion, exhibiting an annual<br />
increase of 7 percent. This subsector’s<br />
sales to Germany, its largest market, fell<br />
1 percent, but its exports to Russia and<br />
France leaped 56 percent and 18 percent,<br />
respectively.<br />
Local companies’ passenger car exports<br />
generated $1.11 billion in revenue, rising<br />
19 percent from December 2021.<br />
France was the automotive sector’s largest<br />
export market in December 2022. <strong>Exports</strong><br />
to this country increased 15 percent yearon-year<br />
to $506 million. The OİB reported<br />
a 3 percent rise in exports to Germany<br />
to $358mn. Italy boosted its purchase<br />
from the Turkish automotive sector by 11<br />
percent to $318mn.<br />
The share of the European Union in the<br />
sector’s exports was 66.4 percent. Sales to<br />
the bloc grew 11 percent from December<br />
2021 to $2 billion. In the whole of 2022,<br />
the industry’s export revenues increased<br />
by 5.7 percent compared to 2021 to<br />
stand at $31 billion, which marked the<br />
second-highest export figure ever for the<br />
automotive sector. The supply industry’s<br />
exports were up 10 percent last year to<br />
reach $12.98 billion. The European Union<br />
accounted for 64.7 percent - or $20 billion -<br />
of the automotive industry’s total exports.<br />
Sales to the Middle Eastern countries rose<br />
20 percent, but exports to Africa dropped<br />
19 percent, the OİB said.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 12
Türkiye’s Togg, tech ventures join<br />
CES extravaganza<br />
More than a thousand companies<br />
and startups, including Türkiye’s first<br />
domestically produced electric vehicle<br />
brand, have gathered to showcase their<br />
products and the latest innovations at the<br />
world’s biggest tech expo.<br />
The annual CES consumer electronics<br />
extravaganza opened its doors in Las<br />
Vegas with organizers hoping to recapture<br />
the excitement of the pre-pandemic years<br />
and companies hoping to get the most out<br />
of the show, produce some buzz around<br />
their gadgets and capture the attention of<br />
investors.<br />
The CES stage is where Togg, a<br />
manufacturer of Türkiye’s first electric<br />
vehicle (EV), made its international debut<br />
last year when it showed off its “Transition<br />
Concept Smart Device,” an all-electric<br />
fastback concept car.<br />
Fresh from rolling out the long-anticipated<br />
automobile brand, Türkiye has been<br />
highlighting not only the fact that Togg<br />
will be battery powered but also all the<br />
features that will make it more than just<br />
a car.<br />
Formerly known as the Consumer<br />
Electronics Show, the expo has<br />
increasingly become a stage for showing<br />
off electric cars that are becoming<br />
internet-linked computers on wheels.<br />
Companies and startups mainly showcase<br />
innovations in virtual reality, robotics and<br />
consumer tech items.<br />
Calling itself a technology brand that<br />
blends digital and physical experiences,<br />
Togg, along with many other software<br />
and mobility-oriented ventures, returned<br />
to CES this year to explore new global<br />
partnership and investment opportunities<br />
and display its mobility solutions.<br />
The company says it is exhibiting its vision<br />
for the personalized mobility experience<br />
of the “day after tomorrow.”<br />
CES is also hosting one of the largest<br />
gatherings of the startup ecosystem at<br />
Eureka Park, the main exhibition space for<br />
ventures from around the world.<br />
Turkish startups supported by the<br />
Scientific and Technological Research<br />
Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK) and the<br />
Istanbul Development Agency (ISTKA) are<br />
seeking to explore new partnerships and<br />
opportunities abroad and meet investors<br />
who can help their businesses grow.<br />
Instead of consumer electronics for which<br />
it is formerly known, Vestel is, together<br />
with Togg, showing off mobility-focused<br />
energy solutions. It is displaying charging<br />
solutions, including one it developed<br />
for Togg’s charging station brand called<br />
Trugo and its parent conglomerate Zorlu’s<br />
charging network brand Zorlu Energy<br />
Solutions (ZES).<br />
Among others, Fark Labs, an innovation<br />
and transformation hub, is gathering<br />
ventures engaged in mobility and with a<br />
focus on global growth under a single roof.<br />
More than 40 startups from Türkiye are<br />
said to be attending the CES <strong>2023</strong> edition.<br />
CES has a theme for the first time: how<br />
technology addresses the world’s biggest<br />
challenges. The momentous event<br />
announced it partnered with the World<br />
Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) to<br />
showcase the critical role of technology in<br />
support of the United Nations’ efforts to<br />
advance human security for all.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 18
“Human Security for All” is a theme<br />
throughout the show, from conference<br />
programming to keynotes highlighting<br />
innovation and products improving the<br />
lives of people around the world.<br />
“CES is the world’s most exciting<br />
technology event, from startups in Eureka<br />
Park to global brands on the main stages,”<br />
said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of<br />
the Consumer Technology Association<br />
(CTA).<br />
“We are thrilled to spotlight thousands of<br />
innovative companies at this year’s show.<br />
Tech advances are helping to solve the<br />
world’s greatest challenges, and CES <strong>2023</strong><br />
will set the agenda for the year ahead,”<br />
Shapiro noted.<br />
Set to last through, CES is getting back to<br />
normal after the past two shows. It went<br />
utterly virtual in 2021 and saw a significant<br />
drop in 2022 attendance because of the<br />
pandemic. The organizers are hoping to<br />
reach more than 100,000 participants<br />
this year. This year’s attendees include big<br />
names like Amazon and Facebook parent<br />
Meta, as well as Google, Canon, Intel,<br />
Hisense, LG Electronics, Nikon, Samsung,<br />
TCL and Voxx.The show changed its name<br />
to CES several years ago to better reflect<br />
the changing industry and the event,<br />
which had expanded beyond audio and<br />
video to include automotive, digital<br />
health, smartphones, wearables and other<br />
technologies. Togg is at CES showcasing<br />
a unique technology experience space<br />
that appeals to users’ senses of sight,<br />
smell, hearing, and touch. It has designed<br />
an experience to bring visitors together<br />
with the experience of a sustainable<br />
and connected mobility future in a<br />
900-square-meter (9,985-square-foot)<br />
area called the “Digital Mobility Garden.”<br />
The “Digital Mobility Garden,” where<br />
concepts such as human and technology,<br />
art and science, mind and heart, unity and<br />
diversity in the world of duality meet, tells<br />
the future of mobility with digital art.<br />
Togg set up what it calls the Beyond X<br />
area, designed by Togg Design Studio and<br />
developed together with Pininfarina. The<br />
area gives hints of the future of mobility<br />
and offers a personalized mobility<br />
experience to the participants.<br />
A sculptural and circular capsule set<br />
up by Togg as part of its Beyond X<br />
area featuring visuals on personalized<br />
mobility experience is seen at CES <strong>2023</strong>,<br />
the world’s largest annual consumer<br />
electronics show, at the Las Vegas<br />
Convention Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada,<br />
U.S.<br />
Starting their journey in a tunnel, visitors<br />
experience mobility accompanied by<br />
visual art that challenges the imagination<br />
in a sculptural and circular capsule.<br />
Participants can experience one of four<br />
possible scenarios such as Saturn, Forest,<br />
Futuristic City and Artistic Türkiye in the<br />
most suitable music and environment.<br />
Beyond X activates the mind, soul, heart<br />
and four senses with an extraordinary<br />
digital experience.<br />
World’s biggest auto show<br />
The presence of auto companies at CES<br />
this year is the biggest ever. Nearly 300<br />
exhibitors are grouped in a dedicated hall,<br />
promising to make it one of the largest<br />
auto shows in the world.<br />
Global launches and keynote events by<br />
Stellantis, BMW and other heavyweights<br />
lead into exhibits featuring the latest in<br />
self-driving technology, electric vehicles<br />
and personalized mobility devices for land,<br />
air and sea.<br />
Other big names at CES include Candela<br />
Marine Technology, GM, Italdesign<br />
Giugiaro, Magna, MobilEye, Waymo, RYSE<br />
and Volvo Penta.<br />
CES is showcasing another rising trend,<br />
namely health care innovations, which<br />
are also one of the major themes at the<br />
gathering.<br />
The past few years have shown that<br />
consumers want to take their health into<br />
their own hands. CES <strong>2023</strong> is bringing even<br />
more digital health innovations and brands<br />
to the global stage, seeking to show how<br />
rapidly this market is growing.<br />
It seeks to mainly showcase advancements<br />
in digital therapeutics, mental wellness,<br />
women’s health tech and telemedicine.<br />
CTA’s Digital Health Studio features the<br />
latest technology for diagnostic and<br />
treatment functions and highlights the<br />
importance of remote connectivity for<br />
accessible health care.<br />
In addition, global brands like John Deere,<br />
LG, Samsung and Siemens are showing<br />
<strong>February</strong><br />
<strong>2023</strong><br />
20
how innovation can conserve energy and<br />
increase power generation, produce more<br />
sustainable agricultural systems, power<br />
intelligent cities and support access to<br />
clean water.<br />
Büyütech, a manufacturer of camerarelated<br />
advanced driver-assistance system<br />
(ADAS) solutions, is working on the design<br />
and development of a concept integrated<br />
into new-generation vehicles consisting<br />
of a set of sensors, cameras and radars<br />
to make the roads safer and driving more<br />
comfortable.<br />
Büyütech, a Fark Labs startup that is<br />
attending CES for the second time, is also<br />
having its solutions tested by Togg.<br />
ADAS systems are considered an important<br />
step in moving toward autonomous<br />
driving. The ADAS camera on the front side<br />
activates when necessary for greater safety,<br />
helping drivers detect and avoid hazards.<br />
Büyütech’s ADAS system consisting of<br />
cameras is revolutionizing how a vehicle<br />
perceives the world and provides reliable<br />
object and environment recognition<br />
functions.<br />
Its solution meets the safety function<br />
requirements for the General Safety<br />
Regulation (GSR) and EU-NCAP <strong>2023</strong>/2025<br />
star compliance and supports Level 2 and<br />
Level 2-plus autonomous driving.<br />
Saykal, one of the initiatives supported by<br />
Fark Labs and headquartered in IT Valley,<br />
produces electronic sensors used in car<br />
doors and seat belts and conducts research<br />
in various fields spreading to chip design.<br />
Its sensors are used in Togg vehicles’ doors<br />
and their seat belts.<br />
Saykal has over a decade of experience<br />
developing electronic products and<br />
embedded software for various industries,<br />
particularly automotive. It works on<br />
advanced technology detection and<br />
imaging systems for strategic and scalable<br />
sectors on a global scale.<br />
The company was founded thanks to a<br />
capital support program extended by<br />
Industry and Technology Ministry in 2010.<br />
As a venture from Türkiye, Saykal<br />
Electronics CEO Yücel Saykal says they<br />
have been centering efforts on software<br />
technology and engineering works over the<br />
last 12 years.<br />
Saykal noted that they look to increase<br />
their business volume and expand their<br />
customer portfolio by strengthening their<br />
infrastructure with the support of their<br />
investors, stressing an aim to make Saykal a<br />
tech player on a global scale.<br />
Another venture attending CES <strong>2023</strong><br />
is Optiyol, a startup supported by Fark<br />
Labs and a graduate of Türk Telekom TT<br />
Ventures’ acceleration program PILOT.<br />
Optiyol is a next-generation approach<br />
to route optimization that pledges to<br />
transform delivery management and meet<br />
the standards in supply chain management<br />
processes.<br />
It features a mobile driver application and<br />
offers companies smart route-planning<br />
software. Optiyol provides multi-stop route<br />
planning and dynamic route optimization<br />
to take last-mile delivery service to the next<br />
level.<br />
Founded by Tuba Gözbaşı and Ozan<br />
Gözbaşı, Optiyol provides a unique<br />
software as a service (SaaS) routing<br />
solution to many sectors carrying out<br />
logistics operations, from fast-moving<br />
consumer goods and retail to e-commerce<br />
and transportation.<br />
It digitalizes both micro-distribution<br />
and macro-distribution operations for<br />
its customers with specially designed<br />
algorithms for the supply chain needs of<br />
enterprises.<br />
Providing timely and cost-effective<br />
transportation of shipments with dynamic<br />
route optimization, Optiyol says it offers<br />
a reduction in fuel costs by 15%-25%,<br />
the number of trips by 5%-10%, while<br />
increasing on-time delivery rates by 20%-<br />
30%.<br />
The mobile driver application allows<br />
vehicles and orders to be monitored in<br />
real-time. It enables the sender, carrier and<br />
buyers to be informed instantly about the<br />
entire transportation process from end to<br />
end.<br />
<strong>February</strong><br />
<strong>2023</strong><br />
22
ARES S1 Coupé painted by the artist<br />
Daniela Boo for Art Basel Miami<br />
ARES Modena, the Italian Lifestyle<br />
brand, is gearing up for Art Basel 2022<br />
by collaborating with artist Daniela Boo<br />
painted front elements of the ARES S1<br />
Coupé model located in its studio in the<br />
Miami Design District.<br />
Art Basel is one of the most important<br />
events in Miami with many collectors and<br />
connoisseurs gathering in South Florida for<br />
the occasion.<br />
The Modena-based company initiated<br />
a strategic shift in 2021, moving<br />
from a provider of custom aesthetics<br />
enhancement services for the luxury car<br />
industry to the manufacturing of its own,<br />
self-designed luxury models. The Italian<br />
Lifestyle brand is now further accelerating<br />
with the creation of new range of electric<br />
mobility luxury products allowing ARES to<br />
pivot and tap into an even higher growth<br />
segment.<br />
Alongside the new product launches<br />
ARES is also developing and expanding its<br />
network of Studios, opening three new<br />
sites (Bologna International Airport, Milan<br />
and London) by the end of 2022.<br />
To support this ambitious plan, the<br />
Company announced in August 2022 the<br />
admission of three new shareholders with<br />
profound experience in the automotive,<br />
finance and luxury sectors: Alfredo<br />
Altavilla, Boris Collardi and Marco Bizzarri.<br />
They join the board of director of ARES, in<br />
addition to the Swiss entrepreneur Philippe<br />
Gaydoul, who joined as shareholder of<br />
ARES in 2019.<br />
The company opened the Miami Studio<br />
in 2021 to provide the North American<br />
market a unique location to immerse<br />
themselves in the brand philosophy and<br />
product line. All products are hand built<br />
as per the client’s specification utilizing<br />
the highest level of engineering and finest<br />
materials.<br />
Daniela Boo has a history of painting iconic<br />
supercars and was selected by various<br />
automotive brands for unique artistic<br />
expressions, her creative work combines<br />
hyper realism and speed. A number of<br />
these aesthetic vehicles are on display in<br />
museums and private collections globally.<br />
Daniela Boo is represented in Miami by<br />
BlackTower Gallery, a contemporary art<br />
space located in the Design District.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 24
Their main objective is to connect art,<br />
collecting, and aesthetic enjoyment.<br />
BlackTower Gallery offers a wide range of<br />
creative proposals, governed by quality<br />
criteria and constant experimentation.<br />
The art car culture evolved in the 1960s,<br />
and there is rich tradition over the years<br />
that has transformed the body of an<br />
automobile into a new canvas for artists to<br />
display their talents and passion. Many of<br />
these art cars have been inspired by movies<br />
or personal visions of the artist, they also<br />
provide a sense of individuality. Events<br />
throughout the United States have been<br />
organized to showcase these masterpieces,<br />
and there is an increased interest in these<br />
types of works of art.<br />
The combination of curves on the exterior<br />
body with art can create an emotional<br />
influence and arouse desire, it is all about<br />
having a meaningful aesthetic feel. The<br />
fusion of shapes and colors can give the<br />
vehicle a unique personality which pushes<br />
the boundaries of design and artisan skills.<br />
The United States has one of the most<br />
unique and diversified car cultures in the<br />
world. The fascination and romance for<br />
the automobile has been around since the<br />
car was first invented. The car was a form<br />
of individual independence and personal<br />
mobility to explore new cities in the privacy<br />
of your own space.<br />
Dany Bahar, CEO and co-Founder of ARES<br />
Modena, commented: “I am delighted by<br />
the collaboration between ARES and the<br />
artist Daniela Boo, I believe it represents a<br />
new confirmation of the constant growth<br />
of the company towards a luxury brand<br />
focused on art and lifestyle experiences.”<br />
ARES MODENA, ENGINEERS OF<br />
EMOTIONS<br />
ARES’ unique facility delivers a new level<br />
of design, development, manufacture and<br />
sales of coach-built and unique cars in the<br />
heart of Italy and through an expanding<br />
global network of studios. The advanced<br />
23,000 m² ARES facility in Modena opened<br />
in January 2018 and, in bringing all<br />
facets of coachbuilding under one roof,<br />
immediately set a new global standard for<br />
the design, development, production and<br />
handover of bespoke, personalised and<br />
unique cars.<br />
ARES’ CEO Dany Bahar, along with his<br />
long-term Dubai-based business partner<br />
and ARES Executive Chairman, Waleed Al<br />
Ghafari, founded ARES and spotted the<br />
opportunity to move the coachbuilding<br />
business to another level of service by<br />
developing the world’s first ‘concept-tocreation’<br />
coachbuilding facility. Together<br />
they attracted a group of experienced and<br />
passionate multinational shareholders.<br />
For the first time, every aspect of bringing<br />
automotive dreams to reality take place<br />
under one roof in rapid time and to an<br />
extremely high level of quality. It is a<br />
unique combination of luxury car brand<br />
resources with artisan principles and skills.<br />
Merging traditional Italian craftsmanship<br />
values with the advanced ones, ARES<br />
realises the dreams and visions of<br />
enthusiasts creating one-off, unparalleled<br />
vehicles, impossible to obtain elsewhere.<br />
To this end, a shared creative experience<br />
that aims at providing a completely tailormade<br />
product. This is the ultimate answer<br />
to the ongoing demand for customisation<br />
and the desire to stand out from the crowd<br />
of our own time.<br />
<strong>February</strong><br />
<strong>2023</strong><br />
26
Türkiye aims to<br />
make $16B in<br />
exports to Iraq<br />
in <strong>2023</strong><br />
Türkiye aims to reach $16 billion in exports<br />
to Iraq in <strong>2023</strong> to put it in second place<br />
in the ranking of countries to which it<br />
makes the highest sales, Foreign Economic<br />
Relations Board (DEİK) Türkiye-Iraq<br />
Business Council Chairperson Halit Acar<br />
said.<br />
Acar told Anadolu Agency (AA) that<br />
Türkiye-Iraq relations are progressing<br />
and exports to the country are increasing<br />
day by day. Sharing that $12.6 billion was<br />
exported to Iraq in the 11 months of this<br />
year, Acar said that while Iraq was the fifth<br />
in the list of the countries with the highest<br />
exports in 2021, it rose to third place this<br />
year.Stating that the highest exports to Iraq<br />
were made from Istanbul with $2.6 billion,<br />
Gaziantep with $1.8 billion and Mardin<br />
with $833 million, Acar said: “We aim to<br />
export over $14 billion by the end of 2022.”<br />
“Last year, we made an export of $11.2<br />
billion. When we look at it as of the year,<br />
we see an increase of 25%.” Stating that<br />
products such as cereals, pulses, oil seeds,<br />
chemicals, paper and forestry materials,<br />
furniture and steel are exported to Iraq,<br />
Acar said, “There are great opportunities in<br />
Iraq. A new government was formed about<br />
1.5 months ago. The current government is<br />
planning to invest in many areas and I hope<br />
that Türkiye will definitely take a share in<br />
these areas.”<br />
He said that Türkiye has high standards<br />
of production and has companies that<br />
have proved their success in the sectors<br />
they operate, one of them being the<br />
construction sector. There are plenty of<br />
projects that Turkish contractors can play<br />
a role in Iraq, he said, citing electricity,<br />
mass housing, agricultural irrigation<br />
and infrastructure, superstructure and<br />
transportation projects as examples<br />
in addition to the Mosul Organized<br />
Industrial Zone construction area, health<br />
centers or school contracting. A budget<br />
of approximately $100 billion has been<br />
allocated for those projects, Acar said,<br />
stressing that “Turkish businesspeople<br />
need to benefit from this budget.”<br />
“Iraq is both our long-time friend and<br />
neighbor country.<br />
The warmer relations we have between the<br />
two countries, the more our trade benefits<br />
from this,” he added.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 28
Toyota top-selling automaker for 3rd year in row<br />
Japan’s Toyota was the world’s top-selling<br />
automaker in 2022, retaining its lead over<br />
German rival Volkswagen for the third year,<br />
company data showed .<br />
Despite the chip shortage and Covidrelated<br />
supply chain disruption, Toyota<br />
and its subsidiaries sold nearly 10.5 million<br />
vehicles last year, around the same as in<br />
2021.<br />
In comparison, Volkswagen Group – which<br />
held the top spot until 2020 when it was<br />
overtaken by Toyota – sold 8.3 million units<br />
last year, an annual drop of 7%.<br />
“Despite the impact of production<br />
constraints caused by the spread<br />
of COVID-19, increased demand for<br />
semiconductors, and other factors, global<br />
sales were at the same level year-onyear<br />
as a result of solid demand centered<br />
around Asia,” the Japanese car giant said.<br />
In 2022, Toyota sold 2.7 million electrified<br />
vehicles, around 5% more than the<br />
previous year. The vast majority of those –<br />
2.6 million – were hybrid models.<br />
Toyota pioneered hybrid cars, but some<br />
critics say the company has been slow to<br />
make the shift to battery-powered engines<br />
even as demand soars for low-emission<br />
automobiles.<br />
A year ago, Toyota hiked its targets for the<br />
sector and announced it would roll out 30<br />
Battery-powered electric models by the<br />
end of the decade.<br />
Mio Kato, an analyst at Lightstream<br />
Research who publishes on Smartkarma,<br />
told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that<br />
Toyota was likely to keep its top-selling<br />
crown in the near term.<br />
“In terms of the actual volumes, it will<br />
still be difficult for Volkswagen or General<br />
Motors to surpass Toyota easily because<br />
both are under more pressure in China<br />
with their internal combustion engine<br />
business,” he said.<br />
Electric-only carmakers like China’s BYD will<br />
one day pose “a genuine threat” to Toyota,<br />
he said, because they have strong battery<br />
technology and “more experience and<br />
better branding” with EVs.<br />
But electric-only automakers are still<br />
too small to have a realistic chance of<br />
competing with legacy carmakers for<br />
several years at least, Kato said.<br />
Toyota named Koji Sato its new president<br />
and CEO, replacing third-generation<br />
chief executive Akio Toyoda in a surprise<br />
reshuffle of the company’s leadership.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 30
Türkiye’s<br />
construction<br />
machinery<br />
sector increases<br />
capacity<br />
Türkiye’s construction equipment sector<br />
worked by increasing its production<br />
capacity in 2022 in order to keep<br />
up with the intense domestic and<br />
international demands, a prominent sector<br />
representative has said.<br />
“Although 2022 was a difficult year for<br />
the real estate sector trying to recover<br />
from the impact of the pandemic, efforts<br />
for production, export, and employment<br />
continued uninterruptedly,” Nadir Akgün,<br />
chairman of the board of directors<br />
of Türkiye Construction Equipment<br />
Distributors and Manufacturers Association<br />
(İMDER), said.<br />
“As the Turkish construction machinery<br />
sector, we worked hard to meet the intense<br />
domestic and international demands in<br />
2022. We are faced with growing demand<br />
every day,” he added. “We are trying to<br />
keep up with the demands by increasing our<br />
production capacity and working hours.”<br />
Akgün noted that the Turkish market ranks<br />
fifth in Europe in terms of volume.<br />
“Türkiye is the third fastest growing<br />
country on average for the last decade with<br />
its growth rate,” he said. “We export to<br />
133 countries in total, especially in Europe,<br />
Middle East, Russia, North Africa and<br />
Central Asia markets.”<br />
İMDER is working to have a say in the<br />
transformation process in the global<br />
economy, Akgün said.<br />
“There are important changes in the global<br />
economy such as digitalization, climate<br />
change and changes in supply chains,”<br />
he added. “In order to have a say in the<br />
transformation process, we are shaping our<br />
road map with ‘Digitalization, Zero Carbon<br />
Footprint and Sharing Economy’ models.”<br />
The “third International Construction and<br />
Material Handling Machinery Congress<br />
and Rental Summit” will be held in Istanbul<br />
Haliç Congress Center on Oct. 3 and 4,<br />
Akgün said.<br />
“The summit will be held with the<br />
participation of approximately 1,000 senior<br />
sector representatives and bureaucrats<br />
from more than 55 different countries<br />
and over 200 national and international<br />
companies,” he added.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 32
Tesla owners in<br />
China protest<br />
surprise price<br />
cuts they missed<br />
Hundreds of Tesla owners gathered at the<br />
automaker’s showrooms and distribution<br />
centers in China. They demanded rebates<br />
and credit after sudden price cuts they<br />
said meant they had overpaid for electric<br />
cars they bought earlier.<br />
About 200 recent buyers of the Tesla<br />
Model Y and Model 3 gathered at a Tesla<br />
delivery center in Shanghai to protest<br />
against the U.S. carmaker’s decision to<br />
slash prices for the second time in three<br />
months. Many said they had believed<br />
that prices Tesla charged for its cars late<br />
last year would not be cut as abruptly<br />
or as profoundly as the automaker just<br />
announced in a move to spur sales and<br />
support production at its Shanghai plant.<br />
In addition, the scheduled expiration<br />
of a government subsidy at the end of<br />
2022 also drove many to finalize their<br />
purchases. Videos posted on social<br />
media showed crowds at Tesla stores and<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 36
delivery centers in other Chinese cities<br />
from Chengdu to Shenzhen, suggesting<br />
broader consumer backlash.<br />
Surprise discounts, Tesla’s EV prices in<br />
China are now between 13% and 24%<br />
below their September levels.<br />
Analysts have said Tesla’s move was<br />
likely to boost its sales, which tumbled<br />
in December, and force other EV makers<br />
to cut prices too, at a time of faltering<br />
demand in the world’s largest market for<br />
battery-powered cars.<br />
While established automakers often<br />
discount to manage inventory and keep<br />
factories running when demand weakens,<br />
Tesla operates without dealerships, and<br />
transparent pricing has been part of its<br />
brand image.<br />
“It may be a normal business practice, but<br />
this is not how a responsible enterprise<br />
should behave,” said one Tesla owner<br />
protesting at the company’s delivery center<br />
in Shanghai’s Minhang suburb who gave his<br />
surname as Zhang.<br />
He and the other Tesla owners, who said<br />
they had taken delivery in the final months<br />
of 2022, said they were frustrated with the<br />
abruptness of price cut and Tesla’s lack of<br />
an explanation to recent buyers.<br />
Zhang said police facilitated a meeting<br />
between Tesla staff and the assembled<br />
owners at which the owners handed over<br />
a list of demands, including an apology and<br />
compensation or other credits. He added<br />
the Tesla staff had agreed to respond.<br />
About a dozen police officers could be seen<br />
at the Shanghai protest, and most of the<br />
videos of the other demonstrations also<br />
showed a significant police presence at the<br />
Tesla sites.<br />
Protests are not a rare occurrence in China.<br />
Over the years, people have come out in<br />
large numbers over issues such as financial<br />
or property scams. Still, authorities have<br />
been on higher alert after protests in<br />
Chinese cities and top universities at<br />
the end of November against COVID-19<br />
restrictions.<br />
Other videos of Tesla owners protesting<br />
were also posted on Chinese social media<br />
platforms.<br />
One video, which Reuters verified was<br />
filmed at a Tesla store in the southwestern<br />
city of Chengdu, showed a crowd chanting,<br />
“Return the money, refund our cars.”<br />
Another, which appeared to be filmed<br />
in Beijing, showed police cars arriving to<br />
disperse crowds outside a Tesla store.<br />
Reuters was unable to verify the content<br />
of either video. Tesla does not plan to<br />
compensate buyers who took delivery<br />
before the most recent price cut, a<br />
spokesman for Tesla China told.<br />
He did not respond when asked to<br />
comment on the protests.<br />
China accounted for about a third of Tesla’s<br />
global sales in 2021 and its Shanghai<br />
factory, which employs about 20,000<br />
workers, is its single most productive and<br />
profitable plant.<br />
Analysts have been optimistic about the<br />
potential for Tesla’s price cuts to drive sales<br />
growth a year after announcing its next<br />
new vehicle, the Cybertruck.<br />
“Nowhere else in the world is Tesla faced<br />
with the kind of competitors that they have<br />
here (in China),” said Bill Russo, head of<br />
consultancy Automobility Ltd in Shanghai.<br />
“They are in a much bigger EV market with<br />
companies that can price more aggressively<br />
than they can, until now.”<br />
In 2021, Tesla faced a public relations storm<br />
after an unhappy customer climbed on a<br />
car at the Shanghai auto show to protest<br />
against the company’s handling of her<br />
complaints about her car’s brakes.<br />
Tesla responded by apologizing to<br />
Chinese consumers for not addressing the<br />
complaints in a timely way.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 38
EBRD to provide<br />
largest-ever<br />
loan to support<br />
EV adoption in<br />
Türkiye<br />
The European Bank for Reconstruction and<br />
Development (EBRD) is providing a $110<br />
million loan to Enerjisa Enerji A.S. in Türkiye<br />
to finance a comprehensive investment<br />
package that includes expanding the<br />
country’s electric vehicle (EV) charging<br />
infrastructure.<br />
The proceeds of the loan will enable<br />
Enerjisa to modernise its electricity<br />
distribution network with efficient<br />
equipment and smart-grid applications<br />
and expand its EV charging infrastructure.<br />
The investments are part of a capital<br />
expenditure programme approved by the<br />
country’s energy regulator.<br />
Esarj, one of Enerjisa’s subsidiaries,<br />
was one of Türkiye’s first EV charging<br />
companies and remains a key player in the<br />
field. Enerjisa, itself, is a major electricity<br />
distributor, serving a quarter of Türkiye’s<br />
population.<br />
In addition to modernizing grid applications<br />
and expanding its EV charging network, the<br />
investment will allow Enerjisa to expand<br />
its distributed energy business through its<br />
Enerjisa Customer Solutions subsidiary,<br />
which provides sustainable and innovative<br />
energy solutions.<br />
The loan was approved by the EBRD’s<br />
Managing Director for Sustainable<br />
Infrastructure Group, Nandita Parshad, and<br />
Enerjisa Energy’s CEO Murat Pınar, at the<br />
EBRD’s London headquarters.<br />
“This is the largest-ever financing for<br />
electric vehicle charging and distributed<br />
generation that the EBRD has sponsored<br />
anywhere in the world and thus it is<br />
groundbreaking for us,” Parshad told<br />
Anadolu Agency (AA) after the approval.<br />
She said while the financing is significant in<br />
terms of size but it is even more important<br />
as it supports environment-friendly<br />
transportation, which is relatively new but<br />
has a scope of being an essential sector<br />
in the future. The EBRD, Parshad said, has<br />
financed different renewable and clean<br />
energy projects in Türkiye but financing<br />
electric vehicle charging is pushing the<br />
bank’s operations to the next level. “In a<br />
year, we tend to finance 1.5 billion pounds<br />
($1.6 billion) equivalent in Türkiye and this<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 40
$110 million is about 8% of what we do in<br />
a country in a year as a single transaction.<br />
We will learn a lot from this project,” she<br />
stated.<br />
Enerjisa Energy CEO Pınar said the<br />
renewable energy capacity growth<br />
worldwide in the next five years is set to be<br />
equal the growth achieved in the past 20<br />
years.<br />
“Türkiye is expected to increase its<br />
renewable capacity by about 65% in the<br />
next five years. The electric vehicle pool<br />
in Türkiye is anticipated to reach at least<br />
2 million in 2030, similar to the global<br />
trend in the electric vehicle market. While<br />
leading this rapid transformation, it is of<br />
great significance to promptly carry out<br />
sustainable and efficient investments that<br />
prioritize technology,” he said.<br />
“Thus, we will increase our investments<br />
that enables us to offer solutions to our<br />
customers with renewable resources,<br />
expand the electric vehicle charging<br />
infrastructure and upgrade our electricity<br />
distribution network with more efficient<br />
and technological equipment as well as<br />
smart grid practices thanks to the financing<br />
we are supplied via this agreement with<br />
the EBRD,” added Pinar.<br />
Parshad said reaching net zero emissions,<br />
which a significant number of countries<br />
have committed to, needs increasing<br />
electrification and moving sources of<br />
electricity to renewable sources.<br />
“Every country is going to have to double<br />
and triple the amount of electricity that<br />
it generates if they decarbonize their<br />
economies. Looking at a market as big<br />
as Türkiye and the energy transition that<br />
Türkiye needs to make. That electrification<br />
needs to be happening today,” she said,<br />
adding that this is business growth and<br />
that electric vehicle infrastructure needs<br />
to be put in place first before people start<br />
buying electric cars. “So it is an essential<br />
prerequisite for decarbonizing transport,”<br />
Parshad underlined.<br />
On the EBRD’s new financing plans in<br />
Türkiye, she said the long-term strategy<br />
and focus in Türkiye is more renewables,<br />
electrification and more shift toward<br />
renewable sources of other sectors as <strong>2023</strong><br />
marks a milestone for the EBRD in terms of<br />
all activities.<br />
The bank pledged to ensure alignment of<br />
all its activities with the goals of the Paris<br />
Agreement by Jan. 1. As of the beginning<br />
of this year, the bank’s investments<br />
from direct lending to providing indirect<br />
financing through financial institutions will<br />
be aligned and assessed according to the<br />
goals of Paris climate accord.<br />
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding<br />
international treaty adopted by 196<br />
countries in 2015 in Paris. The goal of the<br />
agreement is to limit global warming to 1.5<br />
degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by<br />
the end of the century.<br />
Clean sources are now not only good for<br />
the climate but also the economic option in<br />
most economies.<br />
“Investing in renewables is actually bringing<br />
costs down and improving infrastructure<br />
at a lower cost than before. I think that<br />
imperative to invest in greener and<br />
renewables will become an even stronger<br />
economic imperative going forward. The<br />
geopolitical challenges we have witnessed<br />
on the energy side also make renewables<br />
the most secure form of energy by far,” she<br />
concluded.<br />
The EBRD is active in 36 economies from<br />
Central Europe to Central Asia, the Western<br />
Balkans, and the Southern and Eastern<br />
Mediterranean.<br />
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor<br />
Türkiye. Since 2009, the Bank has invested<br />
more than 16.9 billion pounds in various<br />
sectors of the country’s economy, almost<br />
all of it in the private sector.<br />
<strong>February</strong><br />
41 <strong>2023</strong>
Rohde & Schwarz launches Benchmarker<br />
3 to drive network benchmarking evolution<br />
The end-user quality of experience<br />
(QoE) for a mobile network is one the<br />
main factors influencing customer churn<br />
and has a direct impact on the business<br />
of mobile network operators (MNOs).<br />
Rohde & Schwarz, global market leader<br />
in network benchmarking, introduces its<br />
next generation benchmarking solution<br />
which allows MNOs to master increasing<br />
challenges from technological innovation<br />
as well as cost, time and competitive<br />
pressures. The new solution reduces<br />
complexity and helps MNOs make<br />
decisions about systematic and end-user<br />
centric network improvements.<br />
Driven by overall technological evolution<br />
in telecommunications, the entire mobile<br />
network ecosystem is becoming more and<br />
more dynamic and complex for MNOs.<br />
Versatile network technologies up-to<br />
5G, infrastructure and new architecture<br />
like Open RAN co-exist, and the ongoing<br />
deployment of private networks adds<br />
more complexity. Today’s relevant mobile<br />
network information and data can be<br />
obsolete tomorrow. Therefore, it is<br />
essential for MNOs to efficiently collect<br />
and process data in a very short time to<br />
maximize benefits. To this end, Rohde &<br />
Schwarz is launching the next generation<br />
benchmarking solution, featuring the<br />
Benchmarker 3 data collection platform<br />
and a set of unique features that will<br />
allow MNOs to reduce complexity and<br />
costs while gaining more value out of their<br />
collected data.<br />
High data quality for reliable results<br />
Since the beginnings of cellular technology,<br />
Rohde & Schwarz has been a pioneer<br />
and market leader for RF and QoE-centric<br />
testing solutions. Now, the company is<br />
introducing Benchmarker 3, the third<br />
generation of its own benchmarking<br />
hardware and the technological core<br />
of the data collection equipment.<br />
Rohde & Schwarz experts designed<br />
and manufactured the new hardware,<br />
bringing together decades of expertise<br />
in hardware product engineering and<br />
in-house production, close collaboration<br />
with customers and extensive experience<br />
from multi-national network benchmarking<br />
projects. Benchmarker 3 offers a reduced<br />
footprint for easier installation and fewer<br />
computing components for the same<br />
number of measurement devices making<br />
it easier to configure and maintain. New<br />
airflow management enables temperature<br />
control also for devices that tend to<br />
overheat when handling high 5G data<br />
throughput. The modular concept enables<br />
an easy expansion that can be applied<br />
to new installations as well as existing<br />
Benchmarker II systems.<br />
All these factors are combined in the new<br />
Benchmarker 3 and ensure uniform, stable<br />
conditions and highly reliable operations<br />
during large-scale network benchmarking<br />
measurement campaigns. In summary,<br />
the data collection platform has higher<br />
performance, a more compact design, is<br />
lighter, consumes less power and is fully<br />
backward compatible with the components<br />
of its forerunner Benchmarker II.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 44
Smart campaign automation to reduce OPEX<br />
To reduce operational expenses (OPEX) and simplify tiresome<br />
recurring tasks, Rohde & Schwarz offers cloud-based<br />
configurations as well as a set of state-of-the-art features to<br />
remotely control and monitor the test system. Along with the<br />
launch of Benchmarker 3, Rohde & Schwarz is introducing<br />
new smart end-to-end campaign automation management<br />
that automates multiple background tasks for the entire<br />
workflow of a network benchmarking measurement<br />
campaign and orchestrates data collection, fleet management<br />
and post processing.<br />
More value from data in shorter time<br />
Extracting fast and relevant insights from the collected<br />
data is key, especially since more dynamic and versatile<br />
network environments require shorter reaction times. In<br />
order to address this, Rohde & Schwarz has enhanced its<br />
proven SmartAnalytics suite with new features, including the<br />
generation of automated insights and reports, more efficient<br />
management of big data from continuous benchmarking<br />
campaigns combined with new special data structures for<br />
long-term and historical trend analysis as well as smart<br />
end-to-end campaign automation. In combination with<br />
machine learning assisted test use cases, SmartAnalytics now<br />
has higher performance and can extract more value out of<br />
collected data in shorter time than ever before.<br />
Harmonized test methodology reduces complexity<br />
Rohde & Schwarz network benchmarking solutions support<br />
the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)<br />
harmonized test methodology documented in TR 103 559.<br />
The integrative scoring methodology substantially reduces<br />
complexity since it indicates the network performance based<br />
on terabytes of aggregated data in a single performance<br />
score per operator. Moreover, SmartAnalytics offers a<br />
seamless direct drill down feature that navigates in a few<br />
clicks from the high-level view to the application view and<br />
down to lower layers, including the physical network layer.<br />
Users can retrieve single test samples from terabytes of data,<br />
identify root-causes of failed test samples and understand<br />
how these impact QoE. The Rohde & Schwarz network<br />
benchmarking solutions empower mobile network operators<br />
and regulatory authorities across the globe to transparently<br />
and systematically assess and increase the quality and<br />
performance of mobile networks, in order to enhance the<br />
perceived quality for end-users<br />
45
Togg to enter<br />
foreign markets<br />
in two years<br />
The aim is to commence the export of<br />
domestically produced Togg vehicles in two<br />
years after the vehicles are introduced to<br />
the local market, Industry and Technology<br />
Minister Mustafa Varank has said.<br />
Varank visited Togg’s “Digital Mobility<br />
Garden” at the major CES tech show in the<br />
U.S.<br />
Togg, the country’s first homemade electric<br />
vehicle, will start to collect pre-orders in<br />
<strong>February</strong>.<br />
“We will see Togg vehicles on [Türkiye’s]<br />
roads toward the end of March. Our target<br />
is to start exporting [Togg] two years after<br />
they are introduced to the local market,”<br />
Varank said.<br />
Works are underway to obtain necessary<br />
permissions for Togg vehicles in several<br />
countries but chiefly in Europe, he added.<br />
“Presently, there is demand [of Togg<br />
vehicles] from the world’s different<br />
regions…from the Middle East, Central Asia<br />
and Europe,” Varank said.<br />
The inauguration of the Togg factory took<br />
place on Oct. 29, 2022, in the Gemlik<br />
district of the industrial province of<br />
Bursa, and the first car rolled off from the<br />
assembly line with a ceremony attended by<br />
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.<br />
Togg plans to produce 20,000 C-SUV<br />
vehicles this year, and its plant will initially<br />
have an annual production capacity of<br />
100,000 vehicles but the capacity will<br />
later rise to 175,000 units as Togg starts to<br />
manufacture new models.<br />
Togg has plans to list on a stock exchange<br />
abroad, Gürcan Karakaş, its CEO, said in<br />
November last year.<br />
“Listing our shares has always been part of<br />
our plans. But our primary target is a stock<br />
market listing abroad,” he said at that time.<br />
“We think we should do that on a large<br />
stock exchange with our share in the<br />
market at that time,” Karakaş said without<br />
providing other details. The introduction<br />
of Togg vehicles is expected to give a boost<br />
to electric vehicles in Türkiye. Including<br />
new models to be introduced by other<br />
carmakers, electric vehicle sales in Türkiye<br />
are expected to reach 40,000 units in<br />
<strong>2023</strong>, which means the share of EVs in<br />
total vehicle sales will climb to 7 percent.<br />
A total of 7,733 electric vehicles were<br />
sold in Türkiye last year, up 172 percent<br />
from 2021, according to data from the<br />
<strong>Automotive</strong> Distributors’ and Mobility<br />
Association (ODMD). Electric vehicle s<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 46
McLaren Applied and Elaphe to enhance<br />
EV packaging, efficiency and driving dynamics<br />
McLaren Applied has partnered with<br />
in-wheel motor specialists Elaphe to help<br />
automakers boost overall electric vehicle<br />
(EV) performance. The British engineering<br />
and technology pioneer is combining its<br />
next-generation IPG5 800V silicon carbide<br />
inverter with Elaphe’s range of in-wheel<br />
motors creating a highly efficient system<br />
that will enhance EV packaging, efficiency<br />
and driving dynamics.<br />
At just 3.79L in size and weighing 5.5<br />
kilograms, IPG5 provides unrivalled power<br />
density, efficiency and motor control.<br />
Alongside Elaphe’s compact high-torque<br />
in-wheel motor, the combined powertrain<br />
solution saves space, unlocking new<br />
possibilities for EV packaging.<br />
Derived from decades of innovation in<br />
top tier automotive and motorsports<br />
applications, McLaren Applied’s IPG5<br />
is highly controllable, offering variable<br />
switching frequencies and unparalleled<br />
motor response. The variability in switching<br />
frequency up to 32kHz enables engineers<br />
to use a faster, more efficient and<br />
lightweight drivetrain.<br />
“We believe efficiency and driving<br />
dynamics will play an important part in the<br />
next waves of electrification,” commented<br />
Stephen Lambert, Head of Electrification<br />
at McLaren Applied. “Our IPG5 800V<br />
inverter enables customers to run different<br />
switching frequencies. And with variable<br />
switching frequencies comes the ability to<br />
run higher speed motors that are smaller<br />
and lighter. By combining IPG5 with<br />
Elaphe’s high speed in-wheel motors, we’re<br />
not only making the EV powertrain more<br />
responsive and efficient, we’re making it<br />
more cost-effective too. That’s a compelling<br />
proposition.”<br />
“Elaphe is on a mission to make cars safer,<br />
more convenient and more exciting to<br />
drive. This is why we are fully committed<br />
to removing all mechanical constraints and<br />
making the powertrain software defined,”<br />
said Dr. Gorazd Gotovac, CTO of Elaphe<br />
Propulsion Technologies. “An efficient and<br />
highly responsive powertrain system is<br />
at the core of this, which is why McLaren<br />
Applied is the most natural partner and<br />
their IPG5 inverter is a perfect fit for<br />
our system. Combined with our motor<br />
control and powertrain control software it<br />
provides unprecedented controllability and<br />
efficiency.”<br />
The automotive team at McLaren Applied<br />
sees efficiency as leading what it describes<br />
as the next ‘wave’ of electrification. The<br />
first involved early pioneers of technology,<br />
the second, current wave is denoted by the<br />
breakthrough of EVs to the mainstream.<br />
The third stage is efficiency and will see<br />
inverter technology rapidly adopt silicon<br />
carbide (SiC) semiconductors, especially<br />
in 800V architectures and vehicles that<br />
need longer range where efficient power<br />
electronics are key.<br />
The fourth stage focuses on drivability and<br />
adding character back into the powertrains<br />
of electric vehicles, improving driver<br />
engagement and differentiation from the<br />
competition. “High switching frequencies<br />
and the ability to control the drivetrain<br />
more sensitively enables you to start<br />
programming different characteristics into<br />
the drivetrain. With this, we can introduce<br />
character that some might say is lacking<br />
from EVs,” adds Lambert.<br />
The next-generation IPG5 800V silicon<br />
carbide inverter can power electric motors<br />
to more than 400kW peak, 250 kW<br />
continuous, at an unprecedented weight<br />
and volume. It has been designed for<br />
automotive applications, including direct<br />
drive, that are capable of operating highspeed<br />
motors efficiently and adhere to ISO<br />
26262 ASIL-D standards.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 48
Bulgaria signs<br />
deal to use<br />
Türkiye’s gas<br />
terminals<br />
Bulgaria on Jan. 3 gained access to Türkiye’s<br />
terminals and gas transmission network<br />
under a long-term deal that will help the<br />
country replace supplies once provided by<br />
Russia.<br />
Bulgaria’s state gas company Bulgargaz<br />
and the Turkish gas transmission company<br />
Botas signed a 13-year deal that grants<br />
the Balkan neighbor access to Türkiye’s<br />
terminals for liquefied natural gas.<br />
According to Bulgaria’s Energy Minister,<br />
Rosen Hristov, the agreement solves the<br />
problem of Bulgaria’s lack of sufficient<br />
infrastructure for unloading liquefied<br />
natural gas. Bulgaria, which ahead of<br />
Moscow’s invasion in Ukraine was almost<br />
fully dependent on Russian gas, is looking<br />
for alternative gas supplies at reasonable<br />
prices after Russia cut off deliveries in April<br />
over Sofia’s refusal to pay in rubles, the<br />
Russian currency.<br />
Under the current deal, the liquefied<br />
natural gas that Bulgaria will buy on<br />
international markets will be unloaded<br />
and processed in Turkish LNG terminals<br />
and then transferred via the Botas gas<br />
network to Bulgaria.The deal foresees up<br />
to 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas<br />
being transferred annually to Bulgaria from<br />
Türkiye. Bulgaria has already signed a longterm<br />
contract with Azerbaijan for nearly 1<br />
billion cubic meters of natural gas which it<br />
receives via Türkiye’s gas network.<br />
The rest of Bulgaria’s needs, which are<br />
slightly more than 3 billion cubic meters<br />
per year, is covered through LNG imports<br />
from Greece.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 52
Tesla makes China boss<br />
highest-profile executive after Musk<br />
Tesla’s China chief Tom Zhu has been<br />
promoted to take direct oversight of the<br />
electric carmaker’s U.S. assembly plants as<br />
well as sales operations in North America<br />
and Europe, according to an internal<br />
posting of reporting lines reviewed by<br />
Reuters.<br />
The Tesla posting showed that Zhu’s title<br />
of vice president for Greater China had<br />
not changed and that he also retained<br />
his responsibilities as Tesla’s most senior<br />
executive for sales in the rest of Asia.<br />
The move makes Zhu the highest-profile<br />
executive at Tesla after Chief Executive Elon<br />
Musk, with direct oversight for deliveries in<br />
all of its major markets and operations of<br />
its key production hubs.<br />
The reporting lines for Zhu would keep<br />
Tesla’s vehicle design and development –<br />
both areas where Musk has been heavily<br />
involved – separate while an apparent<br />
deputy to Musk on the more near-term<br />
challenges of managing global sales and<br />
output.<br />
Tesla did not immediately respond to a<br />
Reuters request for comment.<br />
Reuters reviewed the organizational chart<br />
that had been posted internally by Tesla<br />
and confirmed the change with two people<br />
who had seen it. They asked not to be<br />
named because they were not authorized<br />
to discuss the matter.<br />
Zhu and a team of his reports were brought<br />
in by Tesla late last year to troubleshoot<br />
production issues in the U.S., driving an<br />
expectation among his colleagues then that<br />
he was being groomed for a bigger role.<br />
Zhu’s appointment to a global role comes<br />
when Musk has been distracted by his<br />
acquisition of Twitter and Tesla analysts<br />
and investors have urged action that would<br />
deepen the senior executive bench and<br />
allow him to focus on Tesla.<br />
Under Zhu, Tesla’s Shanghai plant<br />
rebounded strongly from COVID-19<br />
lockdowns in China.<br />
Tesla said that it had delivered 405,278<br />
vehicles in the fourth quarter, short of<br />
Wall Street estimates, according to data<br />
compiled by Refinitiv.<br />
The company had delivered 308,600<br />
vehicles in the same period a year earlier.<br />
The Tesla managers reporting to Zhu<br />
include: Jason Shawhan, director of<br />
manufacturing at the Gigafactory in<br />
Texas; Hrushikesh Sagar, senior director of<br />
manufacturing at Tesla’s Fremont factory;<br />
Joe Ward, vice president in charge of<br />
Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and<br />
Troy Jones, vice president of North America<br />
sales and service, according to the Tesla<br />
notice on reporting lines reviewed by<br />
Reuters.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 54
Tesla country managers in China, Japan,<br />
Australia and New Zealand continued to<br />
report to Zhu, the notice revealed.<br />
Zhu does not have a direct report at Tesla’s<br />
still-ramping Berlin plant, but a person with<br />
knowledge of the matter said responsibility<br />
for that operation would come with the<br />
reporting line for Amsterdam-based Ward.<br />
Ward could not be immediately reached for<br />
comment.<br />
Zhu, who was born in China but now<br />
holds a New Zealand passport, joined<br />
Tesla in 2014. Before that he was a project<br />
manager at a company established by<br />
his MBA classmates at Duke University,<br />
advising Chinese contractors working on<br />
infrastructure projects in Africa.<br />
During Shanghai’s two-month COVID-19<br />
lockdown, Zhu was among the first batch<br />
of employees sleeping in the factory as<br />
they sought to keep it running, people who<br />
work with him have said.<br />
Zhu, a no-fuss manager who sports a buzz<br />
cut, favors Tesla-branded fleece jackets<br />
and has lived in a government-subsidized<br />
apartment that is a 10-minute drive from<br />
the Shanghai Gigafactory. It was not<br />
immediately clear whether he would move<br />
after his promotion. He takes charge of<br />
Tesla’s main production hubs when the<br />
company is readying for the launch of<br />
cyberattack and a revamped version of<br />
its Model 3 sedan. Tesla has also said it is<br />
developing a cheaper electric vehicle but<br />
has not provided details on that plan.<br />
When Tesla posted a picture on Twitter last<br />
month to celebrate its Austin, Texas, plant<br />
hitting a production milestone for its Model<br />
Y, Zhu was among hundreds of workers<br />
smiling on the factory floor.<br />
Allan Wang, who was promoted to vice<br />
president in charge of sales in China in July,<br />
was listed as the legal representative for<br />
the operation in registration papers filed<br />
with Chinese regulators in a change by the<br />
company last month.<br />
Tesla board member James Murdoch said<br />
in November the company had recently<br />
identified a potential successor to Musk<br />
without naming the person. Murdoch did<br />
not respond to a request for comment.<br />
Elecktrek previously reported that Zhu<br />
would take responsibility for U.S. sales,<br />
delivery and service.<br />
<strong>February</strong><br />
55 <strong>2023</strong>
Everrati completes build of first redefined electric<br />
Porsche 911 (964) for Us Market<br />
Everrati <strong>Automotive</strong> Limited (Everrati),<br />
the leading technology company<br />
specialising in the redefining and<br />
futureproofing of automotive icons through<br />
the integration of<br />
cutting-edge electric vehicle (EV)<br />
powertrains, has completed the build of its<br />
first Porsche 911 (964) for the US market.<br />
Featuring a state-of-the-art OEMgrade<br />
electric powertrain designed and<br />
developed at its global headquarters in<br />
Oxfordshire, England, the full build of the<br />
redefined 911 (964) has been carried out to<br />
the highest standards by Everrati’s technical<br />
partner, Aria Group.<br />
Based in Irvine, California, Aria has peerless<br />
expertise in low-volume, high-end vehicle<br />
engineering production supporting<br />
world-leading OEMs and reimagination<br />
specialists, an arrangement which enables<br />
Everrati to manufacture on both sides of<br />
the Atlantic.<br />
With multiple 911 (964) models in build,<br />
demand for Everrati’s products is surging<br />
in North America, with customers in<br />
multiple US States, and in Canada. The<br />
first completed US built cars are now<br />
ready for delivery and signify the UKbased<br />
company’s continued growth in all<br />
global markets and momentum as the<br />
international go-to creator of dream car<br />
electrification. Its advanced bespoke<br />
OEM-grade electric powertrain technology<br />
transforms and preserves masterpieces<br />
of automotive engineering and design,<br />
into rolling pieces of art that are not<br />
only sustainable luxury models fit for the<br />
21st century but also can be enjoyed for<br />
multiple generations.<br />
“It is a huge milestone for Everrati to see<br />
the completion of our first US customer<br />
car, which will now undergo final predelivery<br />
testing before handover to the<br />
customer. This is both a sign of our rapidly<br />
growing presence in markets around<br />
the globe, especially North America,<br />
and a representation of the shifting<br />
paradigm in car ownership for a conscious,<br />
progressive, and responsible generation.<br />
Our Signature 911 (964) is a redefinition<br />
of an automotive icon that will have its<br />
legacy live on for generations to enjoy.<br />
It is a truly sustainable supercar. I’d like<br />
to thank our partners, Aria Group, who<br />
from their state-of-the art base in Irvine,<br />
California, have expertly led the build of<br />
our first customer car - and are building<br />
multiple redefined 911 (964) models for<br />
Everrati customers - showing just why<br />
they are the leaders in low-volume, highend<br />
vehicle engineering and production,”<br />
commented Justin Lunny, Everrati Founder<br />
and CEO. The 964 generation of the 911<br />
came onto the market in 1989 and remains<br />
a symbol of performance and engineering,<br />
matched by Everrati’s passion to preserve<br />
and redefine this legacy. Everrati’s<br />
‘Signature’ wide body edition is based<br />
upon a fully restored 911 (964), featuring<br />
carbon fibre body elements and a stateof-the-art<br />
EV powertrain: a 62kWh battery<br />
pack and battery management system,<br />
capable of delivering an emission-free<br />
range of more than 200 miles and sub-4-<br />
second 0-60mph acceleration. Combined<br />
AC and DC Fast charging completes the<br />
high-tech specification. The development of<br />
Everrati’s leading powertrain technology is<br />
supported by a robust network of extremely<br />
experienced and best-in-class partners and<br />
suppliers to deliver OEM-grade products,<br />
processes, and quality. Its growing portfolio<br />
of redefined automotive icons now includes<br />
electric versions of the Porsche 911 (964)<br />
Coupe, Targa, Cabriolet, Range Rover Classic,<br />
Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Series,<br />
GT40, and Mercedes-Benz W113 SL Pagoda.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 58
<strong>Automotive</strong><br />
market expanded<br />
6 percent last<br />
year<br />
The combined sales of passenger cars and<br />
light commercial vehicles (LCV) increased<br />
by 6.2 percent in 2022 from the previous<br />
year to more than 780,000.<br />
Passenger car sales grew 5.5 percent<br />
to 593,000, data from the <strong>Automotive</strong><br />
Distributors’ and Mobility Association<br />
(ODMD).<br />
The light commercial vehicle market<br />
expanded by 8.6 percent as a total of<br />
191,000 LCVs were sold in Türkiye last year.<br />
In December alone, total vehicle sales<br />
leaped 85 percent from December 2021 to<br />
reach 115,000.<br />
The ODMD reported that passenger sales<br />
rose by 99.2 percent year-on-year last<br />
month to around 87,000, while the LCV<br />
sales grew 55.2 percent to 28,500.<br />
The combined sales of passenger cars and<br />
LCVs last month were, however, 0.8 percent<br />
lower than the 10-year December average.<br />
In December, 1,519 electric vehicles (EVs)<br />
were sold on the local market. Even though<br />
sales soared 252 percent from the same<br />
month of 2021, EV sales accounted for only<br />
1.8 percent of all vehicle sales in Türkiye.<br />
In the whole of 2022, EV sales amounted to<br />
7,7300, showing an increase of 171 percent<br />
from the previous year.<br />
As domestically produced Togg is<br />
preparing to enter the market this year,<br />
electric vehicle sales are expected to rise<br />
to 40,000 in <strong>2023</strong>. Hybrid vehicle sales<br />
grew 30 percent last year from 2021 to<br />
64,387, accounting for 11 percent of all<br />
vehicle sales, while in December alone,<br />
sales increased 104 percent year-on-year<br />
to 8,794. The country’s large automotive<br />
industry is optimistic that, despite<br />
challenges, it may increase its export<br />
revenues this year compared to 2022.<br />
The automotive sector aims to generate<br />
$34 billion in exports this year, up from<br />
$31 billion in 2022, said the <strong>Automotive</strong><br />
Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB)<br />
earlier. The industry managed to increase<br />
its export revenues by 5.7 percent last<br />
year from 2021, even though it faced<br />
strong headwinds, including the troubles in<br />
Europe’s economy, its main export market,<br />
the chip shortage, elevated inflation, higher<br />
energy costs and the looming recession<br />
risks in the global economy, OİB head Baran<br />
Çelik said.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 60
‘SK On plans to scrap battery venture in<br />
Türkiye with Ford, Koç’<br />
South Korean electric vehicle battery<br />
maker SK On said it has not decided<br />
whether to pursue a battery cell venture<br />
in Türkiye with Ford Motor Co and Turkish<br />
conglomerate Koç Holding, after signing a<br />
memorandum of understanding (MoU) in<br />
March. The Dong-A Ilbo daily newspaper<br />
earlier reported, citing an unidentified<br />
source, that SK On plans to scrap the<br />
idea due to a weak macro economic<br />
environment.<br />
“After signing the MoU in March 2022, we<br />
have been discussing the joint venture case<br />
in Turkey, but discussions have not been<br />
completed. The final decision whether or<br />
not to halt negotiations regarding the joint<br />
venture has not been made yet,” SK On<br />
said in a statement.<br />
SK On is the wholly owned battery unit of<br />
SK Innovation Co Ltd, and counts Hyundai<br />
Motor Co, Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor<br />
among its customers.<br />
In announcing the joint venture plans in<br />
March, SK On said the partners aimed<br />
for annual production capacity of 30-45<br />
gigawatt hours (GWh) with production<br />
starting in 2025. SK On has battery<br />
manufacturing sites in South Korea, China,<br />
Hungary and the United States.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 62
Türkiye on its way to become energy hub<br />
The natural gas deal with Bulgaria is a step<br />
forward in Türkiye’s efforts to become an<br />
energy hub, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez<br />
has said.<br />
“With this agreement, natural gas could be<br />
transmitted not only to Bulgaria but other<br />
countries via Bulgaria,” Dönmez added.<br />
On Jan. 3, Türkiye and Bulgaria signed an<br />
agreement for the transmission of up to 1.5<br />
billion cubic meters of natural gas a year.<br />
The new deal covers a 13-year period.<br />
Dönmez traveled to the Bulgarian capital<br />
Sofia to attend the signing ceremony.<br />
The gas deal was inked between the two<br />
countries by the general managers of<br />
the Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Company<br />
(BOTAŞ) and Bulgargaz.<br />
“The deal means almost 20 billion cubic<br />
meters of gas trade in 13 years. We will also<br />
be able to provide service to all European<br />
countries via Bulgaria,” Dönmez said.<br />
The minister recalled that the natural gas<br />
agreement was signed only three weeks<br />
after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met<br />
his Bulgarian counterpart, Rumen Radev, in<br />
Istanbul.<br />
Türkiye has been working over the past<br />
years to position itself as an energy hub,<br />
Dönmez said.<br />
“We have plans to establish a natural gas<br />
trade center. We have largely completed<br />
our physical infrastructure for this initiative.<br />
The deal [with Bulgaria] means that we are<br />
reaping the first fruits of these efforts.”<br />
Dönmez reminded the energy cooperation<br />
between Türkiye and Bulgaria has a long<br />
history. “Türkiye received the first natural<br />
gas via Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. This<br />
pipeline has been offline over the past two<br />
years. Now the direction of gas flow will<br />
reverse,” the minister said.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 66
Turkish business world calls for ‘urgent’ solution amid EU visa row<br />
Asenior Turkish business official called for<br />
a swift solution to the European Union<br />
visa issue, which has triggered public<br />
outcry and prompted Ankara to vow<br />
countermeasures.<br />
Turkish nationals have been complaining<br />
of lengthy processing times and a growing<br />
number of EU visa rejections since last<br />
year, in a row that frustrated Ankara, which<br />
called the efforts “deliberate.”<br />
The issue has reached “serious dimensions”<br />
for the Turkish businesspeople and traders,<br />
said Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, chair of the Union<br />
of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of<br />
Türkiye (TOBB).<br />
“The visa issue has recently reached<br />
serious dimensions for the business world,<br />
and transport quotas have also negatively<br />
affected bilateral trade,” Hisarcıklıoğlu told<br />
an event in the Aegean province of Izmir.<br />
“We need to find an urgent solution to the<br />
issues of visa and transport quotas.”<br />
Turkish officials have called for a swift<br />
solution, lower fees, permits for multivisa<br />
entries and “fairer” evaluation<br />
standards for people like academicians and<br />
businesspeople in terms of economic and<br />
educational activities.<br />
Türkiye and the bloc enjoy good trade<br />
ties and decades of migration, however,<br />
relations are strained over multiple<br />
issues, including the prolonged process of<br />
modernization and expansion of the scope<br />
of the current customs union agreement<br />
and EU policies on refugees from Syria.<br />
Before the coronavirus pandemic,<br />
Schengen states received more than<br />
900,000 visa applications annually from<br />
Türkiye, but that figure dropped to around<br />
270,000 in 2021. Citizens from all Schengen<br />
countries are exempt from visas when<br />
visiting Türkiye, most for up to 90 days, and<br />
some can enter with only their ID cards,<br />
according to Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry<br />
website. Hisarcıklıoğlu said they always<br />
consider relations with the EU as a priority.<br />
He stressed that the customs union<br />
deal, a modernization of which would<br />
comprehensively shake up economic<br />
relations between the sides, has been the<br />
most important tool for the transformation<br />
of Türkiye’s production capacity.<br />
The host of disagreements between Ankara<br />
and Brussels over recent years has been<br />
stalling the negotiations for the update of<br />
the agreement. A deeper 1990s-era trade<br />
agreement would be expanded to services,<br />
farm goods and public procurement.<br />
The modernization would bring Türkiye<br />
fully into the internal market of the world’s<br />
largest trading bloc, allowing almost all<br />
goods and services to flow unhindered.<br />
“The accession negotiations have further<br />
expanded and deepened Türkiye’s<br />
transformation process. The accession<br />
process has stalled in recent years. As the<br />
Turkish business world, we are not happy<br />
about this situation. If we take into account<br />
the current problems that our countries<br />
are facing, the need to revive relations is<br />
obvious,” Hisarcıklıoğlu said.<br />
Bilateral trade surged fourfold in the last<br />
quarter century, he noted, stating that the<br />
exchange of goods between Türkiye and<br />
the EU reached about $196 billion as of<br />
2022.<br />
“Companies support the updating of the<br />
customs union. The European Union’s<br />
enterprises also support the cooperation<br />
between the EU and Türkiye on the Green<br />
Deal and the single digital market. There is<br />
a very favorable environment for Türkiye<br />
and the EU to further advance their<br />
economic relations,” Hisarcıklıoğlu noted.<br />
Türkiye is the only non-EU country with<br />
a customs union agreement with the<br />
bloc. The deal was struck in 1995. In its<br />
Dec. 21, 2016 assessment, the European<br />
Commission proposed revamping the deal.<br />
The current customs union agreement<br />
only covers a limited range of industrial<br />
products and excludes agriculture, public<br />
procurement, e-commerce and services.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 68
Türkiye plant<br />
pitched to build<br />
new Toyota C-HR<br />
plug-in hybrid<br />
Toyota announced its second generation<br />
Toyota C-HR will be manufactured at the<br />
Japanese automaker’s plant in Türkiye,<br />
marking it the first plug-in hybrid passenger<br />
car to be produced in the country.<br />
Available in hybrid and plug-in hybrid<br />
versions, the new Toyota C-HR will be<br />
produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing<br />
Türkiye (TMMT) in the northwestern<br />
province of Sakarya, the company said.<br />
In addition, TMMT will be Toyota’s first<br />
European plant to start producing plug-in<br />
hybrid vehicles and the first to be equipped<br />
with a battery production line, it noted.<br />
The carmaker said the 100% electrified<br />
powertrain line-up of the new Toyota C-HR<br />
“reflects Toyota’s commitment to offer<br />
appropriate carbon reduction opportunities<br />
to the largest and most competitive market<br />
segment in Europe.”<br />
“In addition to the hybrid version, the new<br />
plug-in hybrid Toyota C-HR with locally<br />
assembled batteries will further expand<br />
Toyota’s multi-technology offer toward its<br />
target of 100% CO2 reduction in its vehicle<br />
line-up in Europe by 2035,” the statement<br />
read.<br />
Alongside the vehicle production line,<br />
TMMT will build a new plug-in battery<br />
assembly line with a capacity of 75,000<br />
units per year within its facility, it said.<br />
Plug-in hybrid battery assembly will start<br />
in December <strong>2023</strong>, around 60 new skilled<br />
jobs.<br />
Toyota said the investment for the project<br />
will be around 317 million euros ($345.72<br />
million), bringing the overall cumulative<br />
investment in TMMT to around 2.3 billion<br />
euros.<br />
In the scope of the new model investment,<br />
it said the TMMT will improve and<br />
enhance its production line, whilst laying<br />
down the framework to meet the future<br />
requirements of production diversity and<br />
flexibility.<br />
Toyota says it is committed to achieving<br />
full carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040,<br />
and is targeting carbon neutrality in all its<br />
manufacturing facilities by 2030. TMMT<br />
says it is progressing toward this goal by<br />
introducing technologies that minimize<br />
energy consumption while at the same<br />
time, switching to renewable energy within<br />
the Sakarya plant.<br />
These measures include the introduction<br />
of new paint shop technologies which<br />
minimize CO2 emissions and the use of<br />
solar energy which aims to make the plant<br />
self-sufficient in its energy use.<br />
“In this project, which reveals TMMT’s<br />
high-quality vehicle production experience<br />
and advanced engineering ability, we will<br />
implement our responsibilities with great<br />
dedication. This represents an exciting<br />
step forward for TMMT’s future as it<br />
continues to produce popular attractive<br />
and high quality models,” said Erdoğan<br />
Şahin, president and CEO at Toyota Motor<br />
Manufacturing Türkiye.<br />
“This project once again confirms that our<br />
production facility in Sakarya is a globally<br />
important place for Toyota,” Şahin noted.<br />
“We are proud to announce that TMMT<br />
will produce the second-generation<br />
Toyota C-HR including the first plug-in<br />
hybrid vehicle in Europe. The outstanding<br />
performance and dedication which our<br />
TMMT employees deliver will make this<br />
new model a great success, just like its<br />
predecessor,” said Marvin Cooke, executive<br />
vice president in charge of manufacturing<br />
at Toyota Motor Europe.<br />
“It also marks another important<br />
milestone with the start of our first<br />
battery assembly line in Europe, which<br />
is an important step in our European<br />
electrification plan,” Cooke said.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 72
Europe ends<br />
bad inflation<br />
year with some<br />
relief but costs<br />
still high<br />
Price gains in Europe eased again in<br />
December, bringing some relief for the<br />
continent that ended a bad year for<br />
inflation. While the cost of living is still<br />
painfully high, the slowdown is a sign<br />
that the worst might be over for weary<br />
consumers.<br />
The consumer price index (CPI) for the 19<br />
countries that used the euro currency rose<br />
9.2% in December from a year earlier, the<br />
slowest pace since August, the European<br />
Union statistics agency Eurostat said.<br />
Croatia joined the eurozone on Jan. 1.<br />
It was the second straight decline in<br />
inflation since June 2021. In November,<br />
the rate dipped to 10.1% after peaking at a<br />
record 10.6% in the previous month.<br />
Households and businesses across Europe<br />
have been plagued by surging energy costs<br />
since Russia launched its war in Ukraine in<br />
<strong>February</strong>, which played havoc with oil and<br />
natural gas markets and has been the main<br />
driver of inflation.<br />
The latest numbers indicate that the energy<br />
crisis may be easing for now. Energy price<br />
rises slowed to 25.7%, down from 34.9% in<br />
November and 41.5% in October.<br />
Natural gas prices have slipped from<br />
all-time highs this summer as Europe<br />
has largely filled its storage for winter<br />
with supplies from other countries, while<br />
warmer-than-usual weather has reduced<br />
fears of a shortage during the heating<br />
season.<br />
Food price gains, the other significant<br />
factor driving up European inflation, held<br />
pretty steady. Prices for food, alcohol and<br />
tobacco rose at a 13.8% annual pace in<br />
December, slightly higher than the month<br />
before.<br />
Inflation has also been worsened by<br />
bottlenecks in raw materials and parts<br />
supplies amid rebounding global consumer<br />
demand after COVID-19 pandemic<br />
restrictions ended.<br />
“The peak in inflation is likely behind us<br />
now, but far more relevant for the economy<br />
and policymakers is whether inflation will<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 74
structurally trend back to 2% from here<br />
on,” said Bert Colijn, senior eurozone<br />
economist at ING Bank.<br />
So-called core inflation, which excludes<br />
volatile food and energy costs, climbed to<br />
5.2% last month from November’s 5%, as<br />
prices rose for services and goods such as<br />
clothing, appliances, cars and computers.<br />
Colijn and other economists said that<br />
European Central Bank (ECB) officials will<br />
likely roll out more interest rate hikes to get<br />
inflation back to their 2% target.<br />
Soaring costs for energy and food have<br />
threatened a recession and fed labor unrest<br />
as wages fail to keep pace with the price<br />
rises. Across Europe, subway staff, hospital<br />
workers, train drivers, postal workers and<br />
air traffic controllers have gone on strike,<br />
threatening political turmoil.<br />
In a sign that energy costs remain a worry<br />
for political leaders, French President<br />
Emmanuel Macron urged energy suppliers<br />
to renegotiate what he called “abusive<br />
contracts” with small businesses to ensure<br />
“reasonable” price hikes.<br />
Macron spoke to bakers at the presidential<br />
palace for a traditional Epiphany kings cake<br />
ceremony, underscoring how energy and<br />
food prices are intertwined.<br />
“Like you, I’ve had enough people making<br />
excessive profits on the crisis,” he said.<br />
The French government has capped natural<br />
gas and electricity price hikes to 15%<br />
this year for consumers and some tinny<br />
companies that don’t use much energy.<br />
But more energy-intensive businesses,<br />
like bakeries, aren’t covered, leaving some<br />
facing closure because they can’t pay their<br />
bills. While governments have offered<br />
relief on high energy bills, central banks are<br />
battling inflation by hiking interest rates.<br />
Last month, the European Central Bank<br />
raised its benchmark rate by half a point,<br />
slowing its record pace of interest rate<br />
increases slightly but promising that more<br />
hikes are on the way. It matched actions<br />
taken by counterparts in the U.S., United<br />
Kingdom and elsewhere.<br />
“The eurozone economy is at best<br />
stagnating, and persistently strong core<br />
inflation means the ECB will feel duty<br />
bound to press on with its tightening cycle<br />
for a while yet,” said Andrew Kenningham,<br />
chief Europe economist for Capital<br />
Economics.<br />
<strong>February</strong><br />
75 <strong>2023</strong>
Chinese giant<br />
Alibaba to invest<br />
over $1B in<br />
Türkiye<br />
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba plans<br />
to invest over $1 billion (TL 18.75 billion) in<br />
Türkiye, Alibaba President Michael Evans<br />
said during a visit to Turkuvaz Media Group<br />
in Istanbul.<br />
“There is a great production power in<br />
Türkiye, which is the most advantageous<br />
country in the world in this sense,” he said.<br />
Evans said that there are always volatilities<br />
in economies, and there are opportunities<br />
when one considers the long term.<br />
“We will continue to invest in small- and<br />
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and<br />
tradesmen in Türkiye.”<br />
He said that they “will carry Türkiye’s<br />
production power and export potential to<br />
Europe and the Middle East.”<br />
He also said many G-20 countries have<br />
consumption power, but there is no<br />
production power.<br />
“Countries with high technology<br />
infrastructure and production power will<br />
come to the fore. Since we see that Türkiye<br />
is very strong in these two areas, it will<br />
definitely be advantageous in the G-20,” he<br />
said.<br />
Evans also commented on the questions<br />
on Türkiye’s largest e-commerce company,<br />
Trendyol, which, backed by Alibaba,<br />
became Türkiye’s first “decacorn.”<br />
Asked whether Alibaba has a stock market<br />
plan in Türkiye with Trendyol, Evans said,<br />
“Going public has both advantages and<br />
disadvantages. I think it is advantageous<br />
to be a public company. But Trendyol<br />
management should decide this.”<br />
“If they want to go public, we will support<br />
them, as Trendyol grows,” he said.<br />
Trendyol Group President Çağlayan Çetin<br />
meanwhile stated that the company has<br />
many investors and that there is no need to<br />
go public and raise capital at the moment.<br />
“We do not have a short-term plan. If we<br />
achieve the growth targets we want in a<br />
short time, it may be in three to five years,”<br />
he explained.<br />
Çetin also said that for the first time,<br />
a Turkish brand is the main sponsor of<br />
the Olympics and that products such as<br />
ready-made clothing and souvenirs to be<br />
sold during the Olympics will be produced<br />
in Türkiye and exported to 100 countries<br />
through Trendyol.<br />
Trendyol, one of Türkiye’s best-known<br />
e-retail platforms, has received foreign<br />
investor backing and holds a leading<br />
position in the country’s fragmented<br />
e-commerce market.<br />
Since 2018, Alibaba has been a strategic<br />
investor in Trendyol, which has been<br />
reported to have been planning a duallisting<br />
initial public offering (IPO) in New<br />
York or London when its income from<br />
foreign sales reaches 30%-35% of its total<br />
revenue.<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 78