An electric car developed by Turkish students for a scientific contest met Monday with the first national automobile produced in Turkey.The Kayseri branch of the National Turkish Students Union (MTTB) – a nationalist and youth organization – produced an electric car called "MTTB-Dava" (MTTB-Cause) in collaboration with the students from engineering department of Erciyes University in Kayseri.

The car was produced as a project for the "Alternative Fuel Vehicles Contest," which was held by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) in Kocaeli from Aug. 21-27.

On their way back to Kayseri, students introduced their car at the Turkish Locomotive and Engine Company Inc. (TÜLOMSAŞ) Museum Garden where Turkey's first locally produced car "Devrim" (Revolution) is exhibited in a special glass box. Devrim was the first automobile wholly designed and produced in Turkey in 1961.

The MTTB's Kayseri Branch Chairman Akın Kaya stated his team gained considerable experience in how to build an electric car. "We want to develop our project and produce an electric car which can be suitable for daily use. In addition, we want to have a say in national and local automobile production," Kaya said.

Moreover, Kaya thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parlimentary Speaker İbrahim Karaman, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Industry and Technology Minister Faruk Özlü, MTTB Chairman İsmail Emrah Karayel, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), and the İETT - Istanbul's public transport body - for their support and attention to their project.

At the end of the event participants took photos with Devrim and MTTB-Dava.

The Devrim project was launched by the junta after the 1960 military coup in a bid to boost the popularity of the government and develop automobile and heavy industry in Turkey. TÜLOMSAŞ engineers and workers managed to construct two prototypes from scratch just in 145 days, however, the project was scrapped after they forgot to put gasoline to the prototypes during their first exhibition, which turned out to be a huge embarrassment for junta leader and President Cemal Gürsel.

Developing and manufacturing a locally produced car, preferably with electrical engine, has been a priority for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments since 2002, and efforts are at the final phase to bring together a manufacturer consortium that will include private and public bodies.