Turkey needs infrastructure for electric cars, Renault says

The Renault Fluence, an electric car that has launched production at the company’s facility in the northwestern province of Bursa, will be exported to European countries such as France, Denmark and Portugal next year, according to a company official.

People in France will have access to electric cars produced in Bursa before people in Turkey do because the country does not yet have the necessary infrastructure, said Tarık Tunalıoğlu, director general of Oyak Renault, a Turkish carmaker co-owned by Oyak and French Renault.

Speaking at a meeting to promote the Efficient Dual Clutch, or EDC, a new automatic transmission system, in the industrial city, Tunalıoğlu said the production work for the electric Fluence is ongoing and Turkey should implement the proper legal regulations as soon as possible.

A regulation about establishing charging stations for electric vehicles in Turkey is expected, said İbrahim Aybar, director general of Renault Mais, the Turkish producer for the famous French carmaker.

“As Renault, we insist that the electric cars can be supported with zero taxes in Turkey for the first five years, just how they did in Europe,” Aybar said. “Europe can be taken as an example for the regulation. As a country that obtained this technology, our aim is to maintain and provide domestic integration.”

Electric cars have begun to be produced, Aybar said, adding that they are ready but the infrastructure is lacking. “A regulation will be implemented and the necessary infrastructure will be prepared. Charging stations should be established in houses, hospitals, schools and shopping centers. Studies should be accelerated.

“Even though we are selling electric cars to the world, we cannot use them in our domestic market,” Aybar said. “We should solve this problem. We are serious. In the second half of next year, electric cars will begin to be exported to the world. For the future production of these cars, we should sell them also in Turkey.”

Noting that efficiency is extremely high in electric cars, Aybar said, “Ninety percent of energy generated in electric engines is transferred to the car’s wheels, but this figure is only 30 percent for petrol engines.”