EVT Motor (EVT S1)

What did it do?

EVT Motor was an electric car start-up launched in 2012 by academics and students from the Automotive Engineering department of Hacettepe University in Ankara. After three and a half years of work, the 12-strong team unveiled the prototype of an electric sports car called the EVT S1 at Hacettepe Teknokent in October 2015. With its 141-horsepower motor, 35 kWh battery and range of around 300 kilometres, the car was presented as an entirely Turkish-designed electric car.

Why did it shut down?

Although the prototype attracted great interest, the capital needed to move into series production could not be found. According to Hürriyet, permits had been obtained for the first 500 cars and the target price was 150,000 TL, but the expected investor and government support never came. According to Webtekno, engineers whose salaries could not be paid left the project, and at the same time the university changed rector. In March 2016 the company announced that it was ceasing operations because it had received no support. It became an example of how hard it is for a team running on university resources to move from prototype to series production in a capital-intensive business such as cars.

The story

In June 2012, in Ankara, a group of academics and students from the Automotive Engineering department of Hacettepe University began work towards an ambitious goal: a 100 per cent electric sports car designed entirely by Turkish engineers. The team organised itself as EVT Motor within Hacettepe Teknokent, the university's technology park. According to Teknolojioku, the project leads included Prof. Dr. Engin Tanık and Dr. Raşit Karakuş.

After three and a half years of work, the 12-strong team showed the EVT S1 prototype to the public at the Teknokent in October 2015. Built on an aluminium-alloy chassis, the car drew attention with its 141-horsepower motor, 35 kWh battery and range of around 300 kilometres; with fast charging it could be filled in about half an hour. The car was exhibited at symposiums and trade fairs and was widely covered in the press. The rector at the time announced that permits had been obtained for the first 500 cars and that series production would begin; a target price of 150,000 TL was being discussed.

Yet the road from prototype to factory was not one the team could travel with the resources it had. Series production required both ministry support and investors, and neither came. According to Webtekno's 2024 assessment, engineers whose salaries could not be paid gradually moved on to other jobs, and at the same time the university changed rector. In March 2016 EVT Motor posted a short announcement on its website and social media accounts: "EVT Motor has been forced to cease operations because no support was forthcoming." The team likened the project's fate to that of the Devrim cars, Turkey's first home-grown cars of 1961, which never went into production.

The prototype was kept for display at the university. According to Webtekno, a collector offered 1 million TL for the car, but the team turned the offer down, citing the project's historical value. Some of the team's engineers went on to work at large automotive companies.

The EVT S1 story is remembered as one of the most frequently cited unfinished projects in the debate over a Turkish national car. Building a working prototype had proved possible; what was missing was the capital and institutional ownership to carry that prototype into production of thousands of cars.

Lessons for founders

• In hardware, the prototype is the easy part; plan how you will pay for series production from the very beginning.
• Do not count a promise of investor or government support as a firm source of funding until it has been signed.
• The day you cannot pay your team's salaries, years of accumulated know-how walk out of the door.

Sources

1. A Devrim-style ending for the EVT S1 (Hürriyet, 2016-03-13)
2. Sad news from the EVT S1 (Otopark.com, 2016-03-15)
3. Why Couldn't the EVT S1, Turkey's First Home-Grown, 100% Electric Car, Carry On? (Webtekno, 2024-11-27)
4. The story of the EVT S1, which ended like the Devrim cars (Teknolojioku, 2021-04-30)

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