Following a recent boom in Türkiye's electric vehicle market (EV) spearheaded by the first homegrown car, Togg, a new domestic car brand named "VERY" is gearing up to hit the roads in 2024, according to a report Tuesday.
The electric car "VERY" is set to be produced through the Yıldız Technical University (YTU) "EVRY" initiative established within Yıldız Technopark, one of Türkiye's leading technology research and development (R&D) centers.
The serial production of the new domestic automobile brand has been scheduled to commence in 2025 as pre-orders start, according to a report by Turkish daily Hürriyet.
The "VERY" will be produced entirely by local engineers and designers in four different models at Yıldız Technopark.
The new generation electric car, designed to weigh no more than 400 kilograms (881 pounds) when unladen, was developed in 300 days by the "EVRY" team, a technology company established to develop products and software in the field of mobile systems.
The vehicle, which seats four people in the sedan model, will also have a pick-up, two-seater convertible and 'autonomous' models capable of carrying loads up to 500 kilograms in industrial facilities.
The electric motor, battery unit, software, remote control applications and autonomous driving features of the vehicles were developed by the same team of 23 people.
Providing information on the features and production process, the co-founder of "EVRY Teknoloji," Yosun Karasu, noted that the approval process for the electric cars with a range of 300-350 kilometers for the Turkish market has been completed.
"We are (actually) developing technology in the field of electro-mobility. Our focus is not just to produce a vehicle and step aside. We are more inclined to grow a technology company that will provide solutions to mobility issues," he said.
"We thought we could express ourselves more accurately by showcasing these technologies on vehicles. We chose a car model classified as L7, saying, 'Let it be a product that serves sustainability,'" Karasu explained.
"One can travel at a maximum of 90 km (55.92 miles) in city traffic, and one person can travel alone with a 2-ton vehicle. This is completely contrary to sustainability. Therefore, choosing the L7 segment is more correct. Downsizing the types of vehicles will have a positive impact on traffic flow and the environment," he added.
Furthermore, touching upon the motor and battery characteristics, Karasu said, "We offer a 400-volt electric motor, designed and produced by us, a gearbox that provides multiple gear options and three different battery options with 11 kilowatt-hours (kwh), 22kwh and 33kwh capacity options."
"They have an average weight of 35 kilos. We were able to reduce the weight of the engine we developed for the vehicle to 16 kilos. This is a very serious weight advantage for us."
Highlighting the R&D study conducted to determine the most accurate features based on user experiences, Karasu noted they attached importance to vehicle-to-vehicle charging support and the backup battery feature.
The company, which submitted a project application to YTU Yıldız Technopark in September 2022, was established in November 2022, while the prototype was completed in February 2023.
Expressing their goal of offering vehicles with an accessible pricing policy, Karasu noted it "would not be right to provide the figure at the moment." "We have 150 pre-orders. We want to deliver these orders by the end of 2024," he noted, adding that they were looking for a place with a production capacity of 800 vehicles for the pre-serial production line.
"This will be a temporary location. Pre-orders will also be available here. In fact, we have a capacity report of 120 vehicles annually at our location in YTU Yıldız Technopark. (But) since we want to go above and beyond, we plan to spend the next year in a temporary production facility," he explained.
"We are planning a factory investment of 10,000 vehicles for mass production in 2025. The factory will be established in Bursa, Tekirdağ or Kocaeli," concluded Karasu.