Indigenous automaker’s CEO attends CES in Las Vegas

THE Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest consumer electronics fair, has become a favorite of Turkish automakers. Domestic car CEO Gürcan Karakaş was among the managers who visited the fair this year.

Over the last few years, the number of Turkish automakers visiting CES in Las Vegas, instead of the Detroit Auto Show, has been on the rise. Among the visitors of CES this year was Turkey’s Automobile Initiative Group CEO Gürcan Karakaş.

Five local firms - Anadolu Group, BMC, Kök Group, Turkcell and Zorlu Holding with 19 percent of shares each - and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) with 5 percent of shares signed a partnership agreement to create Turkey’s Automobile Initiative Group in May 2018.

Karakaş, one of the top global executives in technology giant Bosch and a successful Turkish manager in the global automotive market, was appointed as the CEO.

Apart from Karakaş; Ford Otosan General Manager Haydar Yenigün, Farplas Automotive Board Chairman Ahu Serter, Farplas Automotive CEO Ömer Burhanoğlu and the managers of Turkish automotive supply industry companies such as Kanca and Bosch visited CES.

Some 4,500 companies from 155 countries attended the fair which attracted great attention from automotive brands, including Audi, BMW, Byton, Hyundai, Honda, FAW Group, Fiat-Chrysler Group, Ford Motor, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota. CES 2018 was the fifth fair in the U.S. where the greatest number of automotive brands joined after Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Farplas Automotive, which has a 50 year history in the automotive sector, was one of the 10 Turkish companies that participated in CES 2019. Farplas Automotive exhibited the urban smart transportation solutions developed by its business venture Creative Solution for Urban Mobility (CSUM).