TOGG Ownership Reshaped as Founding 'Five Brave Men' Leave Six Years Later

Turkey's domestic-car project TOGG has changed partners and representatives so extensively that none of the five business figures associated with its launch remains in the same role. A 2017 photograph of the project's founding group has become a record of how quickly the partnership changed.

The Turkey's Automobile Joint Venture Group was formed in November 2017 under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's leadership. Four major holding companies and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye, known as TOBB, joined the project. TOGG delivered its first vehicles in 2023 and is preparing to enter its fourth year on the road.

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The five brave men set out for Turkey's automobile with this photograph. Nine years have passed, the photograph remains, but all the people representing the five brave men have changed.

İnan Kıraç left the project in 2021. Anadolu Group and Zorlu Holding, each holding a 23% stake, have reportedly begun talks to transfer their shares to Turkcell and the Turkey Wealth Fund. The current ownership list gives Anadolu Group, BMC, Turkcell and Zorlu Holding 23% each, while TOBB holds 8%.

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Not one of the five brave men in the photograph remains in the same place today.

Journalist Emre Özpeynirci brought the founding photograph back into public discussion. He said the five original business figures had all disappeared from the partnership over the intervening years. Ahmet Nazif Zorlu and Tuncay Özilhan are no longer partners, while Ethem Sancak has been replaced by Fuat Tosyalı at BMC. Ahmet Akça's seat representing Turkcell is now held by Şenol Kazancı.

Özpeynirci said Erdoğan and Hisarcıklıoğlu were the only people from the photograph still present in the same broader lineup. He ended his assessment by saying the next period could bring changes, while expressing confidence in the prospects of TOGG's T6X model.

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But the T6X's chances of success are very high.