The 10th Future of Automotive Design Competition, organized by Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters' Association (OİB) to develop value-added products and technologies in the automotive industry, has started.
In the competition organized with the theme of "Solutions in the Mobility Ecosystem", 383 finalists selected among a total of 10 projects compete to be ranked. With the competition, OIB aims to add its design and R&D capabilities to Turkey's position as a strong worldwide production center.
OIB Chairman of the Board Baran Çelik said, “Mobility is undergoing a great transformation today, marked by digitalization and sustainable development. Mechanical vehicles are being replaced by electric, interconnected and autonomous vehicles. Our young population will be a pioneer in Turkey being an important part of this transformation. Our competition, which has made us smile with its results, will contribute to the emergence of innovative solutions from Turkey.”
The 10th Future of Automotive Design Competition (OGTY), organized by the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters' Association (OIB), the only coordinator association of the Turkish automotive industry in exports, has started. The competition, which was held with the support of the Ministry of Commerce and the coordination of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), is organized with the theme of "Solutions in the Mobility Ecosystem" this year. 383 finalists selected among a total of 10 projects in the organization compete to be ranked.
The competition, which is the biggest R&D and innovation event of the automotive industry, which has managed to export to all 193 countries in the world, was hosted by OIB Chairman Baran Çelik and OIB Board Member and OGTY Executive Board Chairman Ömer Burhanoğlu.
At the opening of the competition, Deputy Minister of Commerce Rıza Tuna Turagay and TİM President İsmail Gülle made speeches. In the competition moderated by Technology and Trend Hunter Serdar Kuzuloğlu, followed by many people from industry professionals to academics, from entrepreneurs to students, a total of 500 thousand TL will be awarded to successful project owners. In addition to cash awards, the winners will also receive privileges such as developing their projects at the ITU Çekirdek Early Stage Incubation Center, competing on the ITU Big Bang stage, and benefiting from the experience and wide network of the automotive industry.
Baran Çelik: “Turkish automotive is in an important position in the world”
Speaking at the opening, OIB Chairman of the Board Baran Çelik said that automotive, which has been the locomotive sector of the country's exports with its export championship for 15 years, realized approximately one sixth of the country's exports alone, broke the export record of the history of the Republic with 2018 billion dollars in 31,6, and that the Covid-19 pandemic last year. He emphasized that despite its devastating effect, it managed to reach 25,5 billion dollars in exports. Stating that the industry, which has a qualified workforce in almost every field, from workers in production to engineers and other staff, has created more than half a million employment with its main, supply and non-production employees, Çelik said, “In short, our industry is one of the sectors that makes the strongest contribution to the country's economy, from net export income to employment. . The Turkish automotive industry has an important place not only nationally but also globally. It is one of the most important production centers in Europe and is the 14th largest motor vehicle manufacturer in the world and the 4th largest in Europe.”
“The products of the sector will change in the near future”
In his speech, Atatürk said, “Anything standing still means going backwards. Forward, always forward” as an example, Baran Çelik said, “In line with this goal, we follow with great interest the global developments in the automotive industry and even in the mobility ecosystem with its more appropriate use today. Mobility is undergoing a major transformation today, marked by the concepts of digitalization and sustainable development. This current transformation is reflected in the developments in electronic systems instead of mechanical systems. Mechanical vehicles powered by internal combustion engines are replaced by electric, interconnected, autonomous; that is, it leaves it to software-heavy tools managed by artificial intelligence. In the near future, we will see the scope of our industry, the inputs it uses and the products it creates change. On the other hand, the increasing effects of global climate change deepen the crises. For example, the semiconductor chip crisis still continues and both companies and governments are putting out large investment supports. Experts predict that the production of the Taiwan-based company, the world's largest chip manufacturer, will be interrupted due to the drought in the country. Because only this company spends 156 thousand tons of water per day for chip production. New crises like these create the need for innovative solutions. “Mobility Solutions”, this year's theme of the Future of Automotive Design Competition, aims to contribute to the emergence of innovative solutions from Turkey.”
Noting that responding to the great transformation in the world and taking steps in this direction is of vital importance for the future of the industry, Baran Çelik said: “Because this transformation contains many opportunities for our country. We believe that our country, one of the largest economies in the world, will be an important part of this transformation. At this point, our goal as OIB; To add its capabilities in design and R&D to Turkey's strong position as a worldwide production center. We are aware of the fact that our young population is capable of leading the way in this transformation process. We want to pave the way for this path by supporting the ability of our country's youth to produce and design solutions. For this purpose, we provide significant support to new investments and young entrepreneurs. The Future of Automotive Design Competition, which has made us smile with its results so far, continues by playing an important role in realizing our goals for the future.”
Burhanoğlu: “The projects we support received an investment of 104 million TL”
In his speech, OIB OGTY Executive Board Chairman Ömer Burhanoğlu said that more than 12 thousand applications were evaluated, 4 projects were awarded and 107 million 1 thousand TL cash prizes were distributed in the competitions held with the participation of more than 700 thousand people. Burhanoğlu said, “This year, we will give an award of 500 thousand TL in the first round and we will have all the projects registered. Most importantly, we know that the owners of these projects are the future engineers, managers and exporters of the automotive industry. For this reason, our support will continue even after the competition is over so that their projects can come to life. We have been carrying out the realization of our project and the subsequent follow-up processes in cooperation with ITU Çekirdek for 2015 years, since 7. The winners are included in the incubation program at ITU Çekirdek and continue their education and receive mentorship. Throughout the process, they are preparing for the Big Bang Startup Challenge, one of the biggest entrepreneurship events in Turkey. As OIB, we have another 600 thousand lira award in Big Bang Startup Challenge this year.” Burhanoğlu stated that they also offer international education opportunities to the finalists who want to improve themselves, and said:
“Among the finalists, 11 students were educated by the Ministry of Commerce in countries such as Italy, Australia and the USA. In addition, we organize visits to companies where they introduce themselves so that projects can receive investment. We opened an Entrepreneurship House in TAYSAD Organized Zone. During these visits, where we bring entrepreneurs and investors together, we receive very important support for the realization of projects. The projects we supported received an investment of 104 million TL, reached a turnover of 104 million TL, an employment of 590 people and a valuation of 350 million TL. Another pride is that 65 percent of the entrepreneurs we support continue their activities, and 48 percent are incorporated.”
Gülle: “Today, it is not enough to just produce”
TİM President İsmail Gülle said, “Today, it is not enough to produce alone. Along with production, a sustainable production infrastructure, design, customer experience and after-sales services are also important building blocks. In such a process, we have to transform our companies. Our companies need to invest more in R&D and innovation. zamAt the same time, they need to increase the brand value of their products. Our exporters should add value to the values of their products with new designs, new ideas and designs. OGTY is also more meaningful and exciting under these conditions. This competition on design, which has become an important argument in this fiercely competitive industry, is an important breakthrough for the Turkish automotive industry. We are very grateful to everyone who contributed.”
Turagay: “Design is important for the development of Turkey”
Rıza Tuna Turagay, Deputy Minister of Trade, said, “OGTY is an organization that contributes greatly to our country's exports and increase in value-added production. The automotive industry, which is one of the leading export sectors in Turkey, is our pride. This year is a difficult year, the problems experienced in semiconductor chip production are somehow reflected in production and numbers. But despite everything, more than 60 percent of Turkey's exports are made to EU countries. This is a clear indication of how competitive we are in this field. The industry is in a state of change. From hybrid cars to electric cars, from autonomous vehicles to new technologies, we are faced with new discoveries every day. We have to adapt to that,” he said.
Bring and Donkey Rebuplic's success rate is rising
Tuncay Tütek, Co-Founder of Getir, one of Turkey's Unicorn initiatives, and Erdem Ovacık, Founding Partner and CEO of Donkey Republic, which provides services in European countries with its bicycle rental system, also added color to the program with their speeches that inspired the mobility ecosystem of the automotive industry.
Getir Co-Founder Tuncay Tütek said, “We define ourselves as 70 percent technology, 20 percent retail and 10 percent logistics. We are a technology company. Everything is going digital. Mobility is in its infancy, it's never too late for anything. We are at the beginning of the road for the digitalization of mobility, there is a lot of work to be done.”
Erdem Ovacık, Co-Founder and CEO of Donkey Republic, said, “Bicycles not only reduce traffic density, but also significantly reduce the health expenditures of countries. That's why many countries support the bike. Cities are also in competition with each other. Individuals also want to improve their quality of life. Recently, the seagull has attracted great attention in Istanbul as well. Such applications are an important need. It is possible to establish this in our country by establishing the infrastructures.”
The most projects are again from Bursa Uludağ University.
Bursa Uludag University, which sent the most projects with 37 projects, was also presented an award. OİB OGTY Executive Board Member Ali İhsan Yeşilova and BUÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saim Guide attended.
The program, which continues with panels on “Urban Mobility Initiatives and Its Future” and “The Mobility Ecosystem and the Main Industry-Supply Industry Relationship”, will end with the awarding of the winners.
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