Turkey’s “native and national” electric vehicle (EV) champion, Togg, faces severe profitability headwinds because of its low-margin assembly operation, Hakan Dogu, a former Renault (Paris/RNO) CEO, told local YouTube broadcaster Mesele Ekonomi on August 28.

“It is impossible for Togg to turn a profit at these volumes,” Dogu said, observing that the eight-year-old company’s target of producing 50,000 vehicles this year falls drastically short of commercial viability.

“They need at least 200-300,000 units [to turn a profit],” he added.

Cabin slung on top of Chinese platform

Dogu also pointed out that Togg has procured complete rolling platforms, including the chassis, steering system, wheel  and suspension, directly from China’s CATL (Shenzen/300750), the world’s largest battery maker, for its upcoming T6X model.

“You put a cabin on top of it, source the display screens from Asia and, maybe, write some software. Your local added value wouldn’t exceed 30%,” he remarked.

China, China and China

During the interview, Dogu also stressed the growing anxiety within European and Turkish automotive circles over China’s mounting dominance in the global EV supply chain. He warned that Chinese carmakers enjoy a structural cost advantage, manufacturing vehicles 40-45% cheaper than their Turkish counterparts.

Turkey has long served as an export hub for global carmakers including Renault, Ford (New York/F) and Toyota (Tokyo/7203), leveraging competitive labour costs and proximity to Europe. Yet, the rapid influx of aggressively priced Chinese EVs threatens to undermine both domestic market share and regional competitiveness.

Separately, Reuters reported on that Turkey's sovereign wealth fund TVF (aka TWF) is to become a shareholder in Togg, with Vestel Elektronik (VESTL.IS) and Anadolu Group Holding (AGHOL.IS) to sell their stakes. The news service cited ​three sources familiar with the matter.

Vestel Elektronik, Anadolu Group Holding, Turkcell (TCELL.IS) ⁠and BMC Otomotiv each hold 23% stakes in Togg as things stand. The Union of Chambers ​and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) owns the remaining 8%.

Two of the sources were reported as stating that ​Turkcell and TVF would buy Vestel and Anadolu Group's stakes, but they did not provide details on the value of the 46% stake sale. Discussions were proceeding and a final agreement was expected soon, ​the sources added.