(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By News Centre
TOGG CEO Gurcan Karakaş responded to the question, "Do you have
any plans to take TOGG outside of Turkiye?" by saying, "Here, you
are definitely going to the heart of the automotive industry, which
is Europe, and we are planning this for next year." Karakaş said,
"What happened with the mobile phone turning into a smartphone is
happening to the car right now. They are getting smarter. They are
turning into a more complex device."
However, in his answer: "Although there is a bit of a question
mark in Europe's progress rates, we definitely believe in key
mobility, especially because our country is in the renewable energy
mix in Europe. Being one of the top countries in this regard gives
us the energy and courage to be one of the leaders," Gurcan
added.
The World Road Congress, held every four years by the
Geneva-based International Road Federation (IRF), started this year
at the Istanbul Congress Center with the theme "Connecting to Power
Mobility: Roads as Enablers of a Sustainable Future for All".
Following the opening speeches of the congress, TOGG CEO
Karakaş, UN Economic Commission for Europe Deputy Secretary General
Dmitry Mariyasin, International Transport Forum Secretary General
Young Tae Kim, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Senior Transport Advisor Elizabeth Jones, and European Investment
Bank (EIB) Vice President Robert de Groot attended the panel.
Karakaş stated in his speech at the panel that mobility is an
important part of human life and that most of the mobility takes
place on the roads.
Referring to the challenges, Karakaş emphasized that the
challenges are diverse, and explained that this first started with
electrification and range anxiety.
Karakaş said, "So, do I have enough mileage? Do I have enough
battery energy? For example, is there enough infrastructure for
charging stations? I think this is being overcome every day. It is
getting better. Let me give you an example from Turkey, Turkey has
established a huge network in 1.5-2 years. We have established more
than 700 ultra-fast charging stations with our own company. In
areas with heavy traffic, we have almost one charge every 25
kilometers and in less dense areas, we have at least one charge
every 58 kilometers."
Drawing attention to the difficulties in the sector, Karakaş
stated that the entire sector is in a state of transformation and
noted the following:
"What happened with the mobile phone turning into a smartphone
is now happening to the car. They are getting smarter and smarter.
They are becoming more and more complex devices. On the other hand,
digitalization is everywhere. We have become accustomed to this
comfort of life with two clicks and I would say everything is
either on our smartphone or in our car. Digitalization is
transforming our living spaces from a space that is interrupted to
a space that is constantly alive.
"The smart car itself plays an important role here because we
don't want to be disrupted. We want to have our living space in
this vehicle. We have a solution for all infrastructures with
sustainability and decarbonization, renewable energy, clean energy
solution, and that's where we're all trying to solve on one side,
and many are still struggling to solve on the other side. These are
the challenges."
"We are going to the heart of the automotive industry,
Europe, and we are planning this for next year"
Gürcan Karakaş touched upon the importance of cooperation
between the public and private sectors, saying that electrification
and the mobility ecosystem around it are full of disruptive
innovations.
Karakaş said, "If there are disruptive innovations, there are no
standards. It is difficult, I know, but there should at least be a
framework and this framework can be prioritized. With incentives,
R&D incentives, companies, universities, ministries, it can be
focused on the efficient use of the country's and company's
resources first and foremost."
In response to the moderator's question, "Do you have any plans
to take TOGG out of Turkey?", Karakaş said the following:
"Here, you are definitely going to the heart of the automotive
industry, which is Europe, and we are planning that for next year.
We definitely believe that Europe is the key driver, especially
because our country is in the renewable energy mix in Europe, even
though there are a little bit more question marks in terms of the
pace of progress at the moment. Being one of the top countries in
this regard gives us the energy and courage to be one of the
leaders."
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