Turkish electric carmaker Togg has started working on a new T8X model, a B-segment sport utility vehicle (SUV), the firm's CEO told Anadolu Agency (AA), hinting they plan to unveil the new model after sales of the T10F sedan commence next year.
During a test drive at a Togg campus in Bursa, northwestern Türkiye, Togg CEO Gürcan Karakaş said an all-wheel-drive version of the T10X will be offered for sale this June and July as a limited edition.
"We continue our operations to gradually gain a foothold in Europe since the end of last year, and we already established our company, Togg Europe GmbH, in May 2021," he said.
"Currently, we're building the infrastructure and we want to start the pre-order of the T10X in Europe at the end of this year and start the deliveries of the new 2025 model," he added.
Karakaş said the carmaker's overseas target market strategy was revised after monitoring market dynamics.
They previously planned to start from Scandinavian countries, making their way to the Netherlands and Belgium, but there has been a change of plans.
"The sector is advancing quickly and Chinese carmakers are spreading everywhere, which is why we decided to enter the markets of Europe, specifically the ‘triangle' of Germany, France and Italy, which make up the biggest European car market, as we feel confident in our experience and in ourselves as a firm," he explained.
Karakaş stressed that they saw record demand for the new models they put out, as last year they sold all the vehicles they were planning to make during the year within 18 hours.
Recent media reports in Türkiye pointed to an increase in interest in Togg in Europe, namely in Switzerland and Germany, while the German weekly magazine Stern also provided comprehensive coverage on the Turkish car maker and its CEO, including his long career at Bosch, highlighting Togg has turned into "an object of prestige for the Turks."
It also touched upon its contribution to the country's economy, comparing it to that provided by flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY).
"From the sales, we saw that Türkiye is ready for such a change to electric vehicles, with customers purchasing the T10X consciously, and more than 80% of the sales were for the highest-end version of the vehicle, and since April 2023 to the end of the year, we made the delivery of the first 20,000 vehicles," he said.
"There is not a single firm in the world known to have produced 20,000 units of vehicles in their first year of production and have sold them all, at least to our knowledge, which is why this is a remarkable success for our country and every one of us, marking it a pleasant beginning," he added.
At the same time, Togg's sales maintained their momentum in the first quarter of this year as well propelling it to emerge as the market leader among electric vehicles with over 4,000 units sold, according to recent industry data.
"So we're working night and day to follow through after our first success story."
Karakaş underlined that their success would continue with new models.
"We unveiled the T10F in January, but we started working a year before, and similarly, we're putting in efforts to bring success to our next models after the T10F, preparing the B-segment SUV T8X for this time next year," he said.