A Chinese automotive firm has completed preparations for an investment in Türkiye's northern Samsun province and will soon lay the foundation for the production plant, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late Monday, without naming the company.
"A Chinese company is (currently) investing in Samsun, has completed its preparations, and we will see the foundations of this brand being laid in Samsun in a short time," he said after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.
Delivering his remarks, the president also pointed to the development of domestic electric vehicle maker Togg, recalling that he recently gifted it to the leaders of three Asian nations he visited.
Drawing attention to the fact that Togg became beyond a gift, he said it was rather "a symbol" of the new Türkiye, which "is growing, growing stronger, and whose economy is rapidly changing."
He also dismissed what he said was a "destructive opposition mentality" and claims there is "no production line" and "no factory," adding that more than 52,000 units of Togg are currently on the roads.
"Hopefully, the sedan model will also be released in the summer," he added.
Moreover, Erdoğan said that apart from Togg, foreign brands continue to invest in Türkiye.
He also stated that significant progress has been made in the electric vehicle production facility and research and development (R&D) center, which is to be established in Manisa by the Chinese company BYD with an investment of $1 billion.
"When we take into consideration that more than 17 million electric vehicles were sold in the world in 2024, the importance of these investments will be seen more clearly," he further said.
"Of course, we are not stopping there. Another Chinese company is also currently making an investment in Samsun. It has also completed its preparations. We will see the foundation of this brand laid in Samsun in a very short time. We will continue to work resolutely to make Türkiye the focus of high-tech investments," he said.
Last July, China's BYD, the world's largest EV maker, signed an agreement with the Industry and Technology Ministry to set up a factory and make R&D investments in Türkiye worth $1 billion.
The firm's production and R&D plants are expected to create 5,000 jobs in the country and produce around 150,000 units of vehicles annually.
Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır reaffirmed last October that BYD would begin production in 2026. "The allocation process for the site at Manisa Organized Industrial Zone (OSB) has been completed. Permit applications for the factory's construction have been submitted," he said at the time.
Recent media reports suggested BYD was in talks with Italian suppliers for its plants in Türkiye and Hungary.
At the same time, the minister earlier also unveiled that authorities were in discussions with another Chinese automaker, Chery, about a manufacturing facility in the country.
In December, Kacır confirmed a Reuters report that Chinese car maker Chery was in the final steps of discussions on a potential investment.
Following the president's remarks, the local media claimed that the location of the new investment by Chery was revealed. This investment would mark the second such investment in less than a year if it were unveiled soon, pointing to Türkiye's growing role for Chinese automakers.
Separately, Erdoğan, as part of his remarks on Monday, also reiterated the goal of elevating Türkiye, "which is in the upper middle-income group, to the league of high-income countries."
"In our Cabinet meeting held today, we discussed the 2030 Industrial and Technology Strategy that will strengthen our country's independence in industrial production and technology," he said.
"We also evaluated the projects with a budget of $7 billion that will be implemented in the fields of mobility, petrochemicals, defense and solar energy technologies with the support we provide. We are also on the right track in the field of industry and technology. Hopefully, we will reach our goals here as well," he concluded.
