A much-hyped project for a Turkish-brand electric car has dominated Turkey’s agenda in recent days, along with a similarly sensational plan for an artificial waterway as an alternative to the Bosphorus. The viability of the car project remains dubious despite the global automotive trend toward electrification, with many convinced that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), under growing strain since electoral losses last year, is merely seeking political gain. 

Helped by its geographic advantage, Turkey in recent decades has grown into a production hub for automotive giants, among them Ford, Mercedes, Renault, Toyota, Hyundai and Fiat. Turkey's production capacity has reached about 1.3 million cars per year, up from 300,000 in the 1990s, in particular attracting production destined for the European Union. The automotive industry stands today as the country’s top exporter, accounting for 18% of all exports, having outstripped the textiles and apparel sector, Turkey's traditional leader. Its export revenues amount to roughly $30 billion per year, including the contributions from side industries.

Given this outlook, the AKP’s insistence on a Turkish-brand car appears driven by political and ideological motives rather than economic considerations. The project, which aims at producing only 175,000 electric cars per year, is widely seen as inefficient and even nonsensical in terms of boosting Turkey’s competitiveness on the global automotive market, securing technological gains and creating external economies. Critics believe it will boil down to a squandering of public funds for the sake of hype and grandstanding.

The AKP government has been struggling to contain major economic crises since the second half of 2018 amid growing concerns over the disenchantment of voters, who have been losing jobs and purchasing power in the turmoil. In last year’s local elections, the AKP suffered major losses, including in Istanbul, the country’s biggest city, and the capital Ankara. The debacle gave impetus to splinter movements led by former Premier Ahmet Davutoglu and Ali Babacan, the AKP’s former economy tsar. Foreign military ventures, in Syria and most recently in Libya, have also failed to produce the tailwind in domestic politics that Ankara had hoped for. Thus the government has come to pin its hopes on big projects to resolve its problem of voter consolidation. This appears to be the main purpose of the indigenous car project as well.