Turkey's first domestically produced electric SUV. Built from scratch to a 25-person in-house design studio — and a national first
At the project’s inception, a solid foundation had already been established. Early concept direction was shaped under the consultancy of Murat Günak, with Pininfarina serving as the design solution partner. However, the structure necessary to transition from concept to production was lacking.
I joined the project to establish this structure. My role encompassed leading the design studio through the entire journey, from prototypes and show cars to the final production vehicle. I was responsible for nurturing the studio, team by team, decision by decision, into the in-house capability that TOGG required to become an independent automotive company.
We did not inherit a completed concept and simply execute it. We co-owned the strategic design decisions, encompassing those that extended beyond aesthetics: the brand name, the logo, the studio’s internal structure and procedures.
The studio evolved from a small team to a robust group of twenty-five talented designers, engineers, and digital artists. Budget allocation, hiring, and process management were all under our control. While Pininfarina remained our design solution partner throughout, the responsibility for steering every major decision, from concept direction to final production approval, rested with the in-house team I had established.
From Concept to Production
Idea
Turkey had never produced its own electric vehicle. The task extended beyond mere vehicle design; it required defining the essence of a Turkish automotive brand, encompassing its visual identity, tactile experience, and core values, from the outset.
The initial concept direction, developed in collaboration with Murat Günak and Pininfarina, laid the groundwork. My responsibility was to translate this direction into a comprehensive design language, system, and team capable of transitioning to series production.
Form
The tulip, proposed by Pininfarina during the earliest concept stage, emerged as the visual emblem of the brand. We seamlessly integrated it from a single design cue into various elements of the vehicle, including the grille, wheels, and interior detailing, ensuring its presence was not merely decorative.
The Anatolia-inspired color palette was entirely our own creation. We named each color ourselves—Gemlik, Anadolu, Kula, Kapadokya, Oltu, and Seyhan—each one associated with a specific real place, texture, and piece of the country for which the car was designed.
Function
The side-by-side screen was not an added feature to the interior; it became the interior’s organizing principle. The exterior presents an understated appearance, while the cabin reveals the technology. This contrast was deliberate, not accidental.
Every interior decision—material selection, Human-Machine Interface (HMI), and layout—was developed to support this revelation: the moment a driver opens the door and realizes that this is more in line with the exterior’s promise.
Differentiation
Most electric vehicles, especially those with aerodynamic-driven exterior designs, have distinctive exterior appearances. T10X does not. From the outside, it presents a composed and almost conservative look—and that was the intended effect. The technology resides within, not on the surface.
No other automotive brand could draw upon Anatolia’s color, craftsmanship, and cultural memory in the same way that we could. This was not merely a marketing decision; it was a shared decision made by the design studio.
Impact
170,000 pre-orders at launch. A 5-star Euro NCAP rating. A reception that exceeded expectations, even those of ourselves, from Turkey’s first car.
People did not anticipate this level of technology from a domestic product. The exterior did not prepare them for it. The gap between expectation and experience is, in many ways, the project’s most evident measure of success.
Establishing TOGG’s design studio required building it from scratch to twenty-five—encompassing hiring, budget, process, and every structural decision necessary for a studio’s functionality. There was no established playbook for an in-house automotive studio in Turkey. We crafted it as we progressed.
Coordinating with Pininfarina while maintaining strategic ownership in-house necessitated constant negotiation—not of authority, but of direction. We were not executing someone else’s vision; we were constructing our own, with their partnership.
What made this genuinely challenging was the team itself: individuals from diverse backgrounds, united to construct the inaugural automobile of a technology company. Each day, we surpassed our previous achievements. We were not competing with other automakers; we were competing with ourselves.
T10X emerged as Turkey’s first domestically produced automobile—and the foundation of a self-sufficient design studio comprising a twenty-five-person in-house team capable of transitioning a national brand from concept to series production. It served as the initial stepping stone towards establishing a Turkish legacy.
