Leading the charge
Chief reporter KEREM HASAN drives the silence’ as he takes an exclusive spin in the Günsel B9, the first electric car to be manufactured in North Cyprus
AN EXQUISITE car that drives in silence, combined with a sporty touch and comfort.
These were just some of the observations I made as my adrenaline kicked in as I sat inside the Günsel B9 car to test drive the vehicle that has been manufactured in the TRNC by Near East University and the Günsel family.
The sleek-looking zero-emissions vehicle, which runs solely on electric power, has been produced under the slogan “Drive the Silence”.
I joined Kıbrıs Media Group vice chair Nur Nadir on a visit to the Günsel headquarters at the Near East University (NEU) campus on the outskirts of Lefkoşa on Monday following an invitation from the billionaire founder of NEU Dr Suat Günsel.
CyprusToday, which is part of Kıbrıs Media Group, has been closely following the development of the Günsel marque from the drawing board and now to the test track.
Prof Dr İrfan Suat Günsel, Dr
Günsel’s son, welcomed us before giving a briefing on the vehicle’s specifications and their plans for the future.
Speaking to this newspaper, he said: “We are in the final stage of preparing the B9 model for mass production. Next year, we are planning to start manufacturing 20,000 Günsel B9 vehicles a year in the first phase.
“A new building made from steel will be constructed in three to four months that will play a major role in serial production of the B9, 100 per cent electrically powered vehicle.
“At present we are only planning to manufacture right-hand drives, but as it is very easy to change the side of the steering wheel in electric cars, we will also produce left-hand drive versions later.
“We will therefore first produce
for [the] TRNC, then for our motherland, Turkey, then send the vehicle to the highways of the rest of the world.
“Our new dream is now to actually see our very own Günsel vehicle pass in front of a cafe abroad.”
Prof Günsel explained that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there had been “setbacks” to the production schedule. “We did our launch in February. We wanted to invite [people] to [test drive the car] following the launch but because of the pandemic, this had to be deferred.
“There are three [Günsel B9] vehicles being tested. From being a dream to reality, the production of the Günsel car is proof of how successful Turkish Cypriots can be when they work hard, despite the isolations on our country. “We are perfectly competent. We are a beautiful, hard-working nation. We should first know this for ourselves, and then prove this to the rest of the world. “On the eve of commemorating the [37th] anniversary of the [November 15] proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, it is our duty to believe in the republic entrusted to us, and I say again, to reinforce this belief through production.
“This is how to best invest in our republic. The Günsel car is the fruit of this belief, of this love for our country.
“We are very proud. Later generations will be able to build on this. It doesn’t matter what you produce, so long as you produce. . . You may be producing science, art, food, technology . . . production is
the key to standing on your own two feet.”
Prof Günsel added: “At present there are 160 engineers and designers working for the Günsel vehicle.
“We have a very young and dynamic team aged 25 to 30, young people who have just graduated. I can say that they have been ‘born’ together with the Günsel.
“The foundations of the Günsel are art, love, and passion. We could
have been in another country today in different positions, with greater opportunities.
“However, we were born in this country and these lands, which we are grabbing with our bare hands. We want to become permanent in our existence here, to subsist forever, with our belief in our Republic.
“So 160 engineers and 6,200 NEU staff have put their backs into the Günsel project.”