Hours after the Turkish Ministry of Industry announced the signing of an agreement with the Chinese auto industry company to establish a billion dollar factory to produce electric cars in the north of Samsun, the Chinese company denied the existence of any plans to build a manufacturing facility in Türkiye, according to Reuters news agency on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, Bloomberg quoted the Turkish Ministry of Industry that the Sherry Al -Mazdi Factory will include a research and development center, with an annual production capacity of 200 thousand vehicles, and will provide 5 thousand jobs. It also reported that the project aims to support Türkiye’s efforts to be a regional center for the electric car industry, taking advantage of its strategic geographical location between Asia and Europe.
However, Sherry was quick to deny what was officially announced from the Turkish side, as she said in a statement carried by Reuters: “We have no plans to build a factory in Turkey, and instead we seek a partnership with a third party to expand our business there.”
The direct negation comes from Sherry to contradict the Turkish presidency statement, in which it indicated a billion dollar agreement, to construct a manufacturing facility in Samsun state on an area of 1.5 million square meters. Informed sources had confirmed to Bloomberg that the talks between the two sides lasted for nearly a year, and that the factory will be used as an export base to Europe and Central Asia.
It is worth noting that Turkey is trying to attract huge investments in the electric car sector, in light of the high domestic demand for this group of vehicles, as electric cars constituted 11% of new car sales last year, according to BMI data, which expected the percentage to reach 30% by 2032.
It is also noteworthy that major Chinese companies such as “BYD” have previously announced similar projects in Turkey with the aim of bypassing European customs duties, benefiting from the Customs Union agreement that brings Turkey in the European Union.
The Turkish presidency or the Ministry of Industry has not yet issued any response to Sherry’s statement.
