Turkish electric cars begin mass production in three countries

DMA, the designer company of electric cars that can travel for 400 kilometers after a single charge, has signed a license deal with three countries for mass production. DMA CEO Önder Yol said that by selling licenses to the world, they are bringing foreign exchange to Turkey.

DMA has launched the electrical cabs developed by Turkish engineers and is set to start mass production. Yol noted that they are expecting more support from the government, not necessarily monetary incentives but tax incentives for Turkish citizens to take notice of this new technology. The test drives took place in Istanbul and DMA's electric cars are now ready to be on the streets. He also announced the deals they have signed with three countries and that, along with their cars being capable of traveling for 400 kilometers with one charge, they have decreased the required charging period. He also stressed that the car is currently more expensive than average market prices with its TL 180,000 ($73,300) price tag. However, Yol noted that once they start production of 10,000 cars a year, the price will decrease toward the market average. Noting that when compared to internal combustion engines that use diesel oil or LPG, electric cars offer 10 times more fuel efficiency. Yol also said that normal taxis spend about TL 150 per day, around TL 4,500 a month, while the electric only spends TL 10 to TL 12 a day and TL 300 a month in total, which means the car would pay for itself in two years. Yol added that oil and maintenance expenses also decrease since the car does not have a motor.

Highlighting that electrical cars that were launched two years ago, Yol said that while papers printed his words as "we're the leader in domestic cars," what he said was "we're planning on becoming the leader in the domestic car market." Moreover, he could easily say that, today, DMA is the leading company in the domestic car market.

Another advantage of the electric car is the very low Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) at 3 percent and the exemption from the Motor Vehicle Tax. Yol also said that the technology was spreading fast as the Municipality of London has announced that as of 2016, they will only issue licenses to cabs running on electricity.

Yol said that they have outgrown the most well-known electric sports car brand in terms of technology. "Their cars have 12,000 batteries while ours only have 200, therefore we can easily determine which battery is overcharging and the system deactivates that battery. This would be very hard when 12,000 batteries are running," he said.