Kacır: We Will Strive to Bring Leading Technology Brands to Turkey
Forex - The Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, stated that they will continue to provide incentives for new technology investments to be made in Turkey, saying, "We will certainly strive to bring new brands that have become world leaders in their fields and pioneers of technology to Turkey. If we do not bring these brands to Turkey and attract their investments here, they will go around us and invest in other countries."
Regarding investments from brands such as BYD and Chery, he commented, “These brands' investments in Turkey will accelerate the transformation of Turkey's automotive sector towards mobility technologies. It will strengthen our supplier base in areas like electric vehicle technology. These brands will, of course, invest in Turkey with high local content, make high value-added investments in Turkey, and invest in export-oriented projects in Turkey, while also working together with Turkey’s supply industry.”
Kacır also discussed Turkey's space initiatives, stating, “Turkey has opened a new chapter in its scientific journey by sending its own citizens into space for scientific research. It has also enabled our scientists to strengthen their opportunities for global research. Research projects from universities in Turkey have been executed within the scope of the manned space project.”
Regarding Turkey's defense industry, he noted, "Only a handful of countries in the world are able to produce 5th generation fighter jets. Our children and brothers are working day and night to produce. Does it suit us to act as intermediaries for those throwing mud? The KAAN did not get stuck at 400 meters; it climbed to 10,000 feet, 3,048 meters in altitude for 14 minutes. You keep making statements against these national projects at every opportunity. I leave the judgment to our people.”
Following the budget presentation of the Ministry and its affiliated institutions for 2025 in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Planning and Budget Commission, Kacır answered questions from the deputies. He mentioned that in 2024, the number of newly established companies in the manufacturing sector was 12,600, while 4,000 companies closed.
Kacır emphasized that the defense industry is the locomotive sector for transitioning to high technology in Turkey and stated, "It is fundamental for Turkey's industrial policy that the benefits obtained here spread rapidly to all sectors. Today, Togg has established a research center in Ankara. This is a center that works in the field of smart vehicle technologies. Currently, over 200 researchers are working here, half of them being engineers trained at ASELSAN and TUSAŞ. We continue to support the proliferation of such examples.”
He recalled the dream of having a domestic car since Turkey's Revolution car and continued, “A strong will in this regard has been demonstrated by our President. However, after nearly 50 years, in 2011 when almost 500,000 vehicles were sold annually in Turkey, our President, then Prime Minister, stated, ‘The time has come for this country to have a local automobile brand.’ He also said, ‘We will be ready to provide any support to whoever will undertake this job.’ One would expect that industrialists who received this message would act swiftly. However, many of our industrialists capable of doing this most effectively refrained from taking action due to learned helplessness. Some stated on television that this was a utopia and unrealistic. Unfortunately, there are some politicians among them. They said, ‘What need does Turkey have for a national automobile brand? There are already some car brands manufacturing in Turkey.’ However, everyone who is striving for the development of this country should well understand the value of having a car whose intellectual property rights belong to us. Eventually, it turned into a search for a brave investor, and in 2018, Turkey's automobile Togg was launched as a private initiative with strong support from the government.”
In December 2019, Kacır mentioned that they introduced Togg vehicles to the public with President Erdoğan's presence, saying, “I remember very well that after that introduction, the following words were said: 'There are a few cars on stage. There is no car factory, and there will not be one.' In the summer of 2020, just three or four months into the pandemic, we laid the foundations of the Togg factory in Gemlik with the honor of our President's presence. I vividly remember that on the evening after we laid those foundations, it was said, ‘These foundations will be laid, but this factory will not be built; these foundations will rot underground.’ On October 29, 2022, our Republic Day, we held the ceremony for the first vehicles coming off the production line. Again, with the presence of our President, it was stated, ‘These vehicles are rolling off the assembly line for show. There is no real factory; no production is taking place and there won’t be.’ From April 2023 onwards, Togg vehicles began appearing on the roads. This time it was claimed that ‘the vehicles you see on these roads are not produced in Turkey, Bursa, or Gemlik, but in Italy. They are secretly brought to Turkey at night and taken to the roads under covers.’ But, despite all these accusations, insinuations, and slanders, under the leadership of our President, we did not back down from this assertion. Ultimately, more than 40,000 Togg vehicles were produced and hit the roads within a year and a half. This number is not insignificant.”
Kacır noted that Togg reached the production and sales figures that Tesla did in its sixth year within just a year and a half, stating, “Of course, we still have a lot to do. Ultimately, this is a race for technology. We know that the automotive industry is undergoing significant transformations, particularly driven by the shift to electric vehicles and the transition to driverless cars, which are rapidly changing and transforming the sector. Many global brands are struggling with these transformations. Throughout this transformation process, no matter what anyone says, we have stood by Togg, and we will continue to strongly support Togg and take steps to ensure its competitiveness with high-tech capabilities. Certainly, while doing all this, we will continue to implement steps to strengthen the automotive sector, where hundreds of thousands of working brothers contribute and which leads our exports with an annual export of 35 billion dollars.”
Regarding new investment incentives, Kacır added, “We have provided investment incentives for a total of $15 billion for 78 projects from brands including Ford, with $3.6 billion; Tofaş (IS:TOASO) with $2.1 billion; Toyota with $1.9 billion; Renault with $1.5 billion; Mercedes-Benz with $837 million; and Hyundai with $757 million. Why have we provided these? To have investment, employment, production, and exports in Turkey. Thanks to this, our sector has reached this point. In 2002, approximately 300,000 vehicles were produced in Turkey. Last year, more than 1.4 million vehicles were produced in Turkey. On one hand, we will continue to provide incentives for these brands' investments in electric vehicles, driverless vehicles, and hydrogen vehicle technologies. On the other hand, we will certainly strive to bring new brands that have become global leaders in their fields to Turkey. If we do not bring these brands to Turkey and attract their investments here, they will go around us and invest in other countries.”
Kacır emphasized the necessity of providing Togg with competitive power and demonstrated the risks of failing to attract foreign investment. He stated, “If we do not attract these brands to Turkey, they can carry out these investments in other countries within the Customs Union or in Europe, and then they can sell vehicles to Turkey duty-free. Ultimately, we will provide Togg with competitive strength; we must do so. Of course, this is not just about these brands investing in Turkey. Their investments in Turkey will accelerate the transformation of Turkey's automotive sector toward mobility technologies. It will strengthen our supplier base in areas like electric vehicle technology. These brands will invest in Turkey with high local content, create high value-added investments in Turkey, and invest in export-oriented projects in Turkey, and they will of course work with Turkey’s supply industry. However, they may also produce some parts themselves or contribute to our supply industry. We have provided this opportunity to other international brands whose names we previously mentioned. Ultimately, what is essential is the generation of added value in Turkey and especially the advancement of electric and driverless vehicle technologies in Turkey. This will be beneficial for Togg. Togg is working with suppliers from Turkey for electric vehicle technologies. The scaling up of these suppliers will also enhance Togg's competitive power. Thus, we will continue to achieve all these in Turkey. We will strive to continue our efforts for the welfare of our nation and the future of Turkey.”
Referring to Turkey's achievements in the defense and aerospace exports, Kacır pointed out that Turkey was the second country among 47 OECD member and observer countries that increased its R&D expenditure in terms of purchasing power parity significantly from 2002 to 2022, stating, “So far, firms located in technoparks have achieved 2 trillion 157 billion lira in domestic sales and 11.8 billion dollars in exports. The sales generated from products developed through R&D and design center activities exceed 16 trillion lira. Turkey's exports in just the defense and aerospace sector increased from 250 million dollars to 5.5 billion dollars last year. This year, we are exceeding 6 billion dollars. God willing, we will quickly reach the level of 10 billion dollars.”
Kacır noted that Turkey is filled with agendas revolving around science and technology, stating, “Turkey has opened a new chapter in its scientific journey by sending its own citizens into space for scientific research. It has also contributed to strengthening our scientists' opportunities for global research. Research projects from universities in Turkey have been executed in the context of the manned space project. You may do injustice to us; we can tolerate this to some extent as we are in politics, but if you belittle the scientific research projects prepared by these scientists over months and years and mock this scientific mission by comparing it to a tourist trip, you are doing the greatest injustice both to these scientists and to all Turkish youths who are inspired by these scientific efforts. Our astronaut mission and the programs we conduct with our astronaut have no relation to elections. Astronauts around the world share their experiences with young people and children after carrying out their scientific missions. Today, the TÜBİTAK scientific journals have a monthly reach of 750,000. How did this happen? Because we sent our astronaut in January, and the whole of Turkey's agenda was filled with science and technology."
Addressing criticism regarding political manipulation of successful projects in the national defense industry, Kacır stated, "Every political authority will take pride in the successes achieved during its term with its nation. However, we wish to take ownership of all these projects as politicians. 'Did KAAN fail to exceed 400 meters altitude?' was asked. Only a handful of countries in the world can produce 5th generation fighter jets. Our children and brothers are working day and night to produce. Does it suit us to act as intermediaries for those throwing mud? KAAN did not get stuck at 400 meters; it climbed to 10,000 feet, 3,048 meters in altitude for 14 minutes. You keep making statements against these national projects at every opportunity. Then when these projects succeed, you are unable to share our pride and joy, ultimately accusing us of politicizing these projects. I leave the judgment to our people."
In the committee, the 2025 budgets of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, as well as regional development authorities such as the GAP Regional Development Administration, Eastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration, Konya Plain Project Regional Development Administration, Eastern Black Sea Project Regional Development Administration, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Development and Support Administration, Turkish Standards Institute, Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, Turkish Academy of Sciences, and Turkish Space Agency were approved.