Turkey Is Making a Weird Amount of Progress on the Saab 9-3 Becoming Its 'National Car'

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Apparently, Turkey’s electric is still in the works. In case you don’t remember, the former hub of the Ottoman Empire purchased the Saab 9-3’s license from National Electric Vehicle Sweden while it was still attempting to convert the model into a marketable EV in 2015. But, despite being the absolute perfect project to give up on, nobody has.

The plan was to make the electric 9-3 “the national car of Turkey.” That’s a little weird considering the model ended its life as an American-owned Swedish car, using General Motor’s Epsilon platform, that was later sold to Dutch automobile manufacturer Spyker and eventually NEVS back in Sweden. But, considering Turkey’s national sport is semi-erotic oil wrestling, this might be another case of the Republic embarking on something my Western mind can’t fully appreciate.

Back on the automotive front, the country’s chairman of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges, Rifat Hisarciklioglu, explained that the national EV project has received additional backing from local suppliers and should be progressing nicely.

“Century-old automobile giants are racing with each other in new-generation car technologies. So now is the right time for the Turkish automobile,” Hisarciklioglu told Hurriyet Daily News. “We will work very hard for three or four months to analyze the alternative technologies and funding options.”

The five suppliers — Anadolu Group, BMC, Kıraça Holding, Turkcell, and Zorlu Holding — have agreed to jointly manufacture Turkey’s first indigenous car… which, again, appears like it will also be the Saab 9-3. Of course, it won’t look like that model. The country has already taken steps to distance it from is Swedish origins by camouflaging the initial prototypes with another discontinued Epsilon — the Cadillac BLS.

According to Automotive News, the final vehicle should be a range-extended electric sedan. Last year, Turkey’s Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology indicated the debut model would be an electric car with a small gasoline engine as a range extender, possibly containing a 15-kWh battery and a pure-electric range of 60 miles. That was also around the time the country’s Science, Industry, and Technology Minister, Fikri Isik, said the car would “be better and safer than Tesla’s car.”

“While they need to establish charging stations, we will integrate the charging station into the car thanks to a developed engine which extends the car’s range,” Isik explained.

I wonder if they sell the BMW i3 REx or Chevrolet Volt in Turkey. Something tells me they might not.

While it’s a little difficult to take this endeavor seriously, the Republic of Turkey is a major producer for established brands looking to sell within Europe and there appears to be genuine effort placed behind the project. Car designer Ugur Sahin is supposedly involved, numerous suppliers have committed to making it a reality, and the country’s leadership certainly seems excited to see it come to fruition.

Also, on the off chance that you’re keen to get your hands on one someday, Industry Minister Faruk Özlü said the goal of the project is “not limited to the domestic markets.”

[Image: TÜBİTAK]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Nick_515 Nick_515 on Nov 14, 2017

    Turkey has had a turkish car in the past... an Anadolu I believe. 1960s.

    • See 2 previous
    • Scott25 Scott25 on Nov 15, 2017

      @Nick_515 The beloved Toyota C-HR is built in Turkey currently, could it be the only Turkish assembled passenger car ever sold in North America? Also the article treats Turkey like it’s Borat’s Kazakhstan. It’s pretty much at the same level as the rest of Eastern Europe so I can guarantee the i3 and Ampara are sold there.

  • MRF 95 T-Bird MRF 95 T-Bird on Nov 14, 2017

    This reminds me of the Soviets buying the Fiat 124 sedan tooling for the Lada. They got plenty of years out of it Kind the the official Soviet vehicle just below a Zil. Or SEAT which was the consolidation of other brands and licensed Fiat tooling.

    • See 1 previous
    • MRF 95 T-Bird MRF 95 T-Bird on Nov 15, 2017

      @Inside Looking Out Ah yes I forgot about the Volga. Funny how the Soviet Union offered different classes and price ranges of cars. A structure like what was created by Alfred P. Sloan at GM.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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