Turkey, Ankara: At the IAA Transportation Fair in Hannover, HABAS Automotive General Manager Hseyin Urkun shared insights on the company's ambitious plans and investments. HABAS began its R&D activities in İzmir iğli in early 2021 and is now establishing a 100,000-square-meter factory in Manisa, which is set to commence mass production in early 2025. Currently, pre-production of vehicles is being conducted in İzmir, with final assembly planned for the Manisa site. The company also acquired a Honda factory, which will be used for various production processes.

HABAS intends to produce two passenger car models—a sedan and a crossover—by late 2025. These vehicles will be available in three versions: hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and gasoline. The designs are developed in-house, with Volvo engines currently being used for passenger cars and Renault engines for light commercial vehicles. The company sources its battery cells from the Far East and is responsible for packaging and integrating them into its vehicles.

Urkun highlighted that the total investment in the project could reach up to 1 billion euros, including commercial vehicles. The company's current investments total around 250-300 million euros. They plan to expand production capacity at the Honda factory from 50,000 to between 75,000 and 100,000 vehicles. Additionally, the company aims to manufacture 20,000 commercial vehicles in Manisa. Additionally, HABAS is working on establishing a dealer network and aims to offer competitive pricing for its products.