Turkish domestic carmaker picks China’s Farasis as battery partner

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) has inked a deal with China’s Farasis Energy to jointly manufacture lithium-ion batteries, according to the Turkish domestic car company officials.

Farasis will supply TOGG the key part of Turkey’s $2.8 billion endeavor to produce its own automobile brand, according to a joint statement on Oct. 20.

The two companies are also planning to form a joint venture early next year to sell batteries and other power storage units to companies in Turkey and its region.

“Since 2018, more than 30 global battery suppliers and possible local partnerships have been evaluated under non-disclosure agreements, and eventually Farasis, one of the world’s leading lithium-ion battery producers, has met our technical, commercial and strategic criteria and it was picked as our battery business partner,” said TOGG CEO Gürcan Karakaş.

According to the exchanged letters of intent, which will be approved by the two companies’ boards in the upcoming weeks, battery modules and packages will be manufactured in Turkey.

“The joint venture founded with Farasis will probably help to increase the energy efficiency of our country, reducing foreign dependency in energy and developing a clean and effective energy system,” said Rifat Hisarciklioğlu, TOGG’s head and president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), during a signing ceremony at TOGG’s headquarters in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.

“TOGG’s mobility ecosystem will turn to a significant regional player developing technology and creating a large economic value,” he added.

Yu Wang, co-founder and CEO of Farasis, attended the ceremony via videoconference.

“We could not think of a more ideal partner than TOGG and more ideal location than Turkey, which we deem as the next largest market in electrification [of the automotive sector], in supporting our battery-sector leader company’s ambitious growth plans,” he said.

Farasis was represented at the ceremony by a company executive in its European organization, Sebastian Wolf.

“We are expecting a huge demand rise toward lithium-ion batteries both from the automotive and non-automotive sectors in Turkey. Thus, we are extremely excited to be a partner with TOGG in founding the first electric vehicle battery company in the region,” said Wolf.

TOGG is an umbrella organization for five companies that are building their first car factory in Gemlik, a seaport district in the country’s automobile manufacturing hub of the Bursa province. The Gemlik factory will have a capacity of producing 175,000 vehicles annually.

By 2030, TOGG plans to produce five different models: An SUV, a sedan, a c-hatchback, a b-SUV and a b-MPV.

TOGG’s cars are planned to be exported to European countries like Germany, France and Italy in 2024, two years after the first batches go onto the domestic market.