Toyota expects 25 years of hybrid success in Turkey

The CEO of Toyota Turkey, Ali Haydar Bozkurt, believes the country’s hybrid vehicle sector can look forward to 25 years of growth, because power generation infrastructure is not yet ready for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

Speaking at the IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany, in September, Bozkurt said: 

“According to research, the Turkish power distribution and generation system is unable to supply 60,000 electric vehicles simultaneously and can fail.  It will take some time to rectify such infrastructure problems.  Considering similar engineering data, the age of hybrid cars in Turkey will last for at least 25 years more.”

The latest addition to Toyota’s portfolio of hybrid cars was also unveiled at the motor show. The C-HR Hy-Power concept is a higher-powered engine version of the globally acclaimed C-HR model manufactured in Turkey. 

Toyota now offers 16 different hybrid models in Europe, with seven different powertrain options. According to Bozkurt, 50% of the C-HRs sold in Turkey are hybrid, and 77% of those sold in Western Europe.

“Toyota is getting close to its target of 50% hybrid sales by 2020. As more environment friendly cars are included in the product range, this will help us to reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2050 compared to 2010.  Hybrid will be our distinguishing key feature. We will continue diversifying our hybrid product range even further.”