Mercedes-Backed Farasis Wins Incentives for Turkey Battery Plant

(Bloomberg) -- Farasis Energy, the Chinese battery manufacturer backed by Mercedes-Benz, obtained a wide range of financial incentives for its Turkish joint venture.

Turkey’s government said in a decree on Saturday that it will provide tax deductions and direct aid to Siro -- the umbrella company that includes Farasis and Turkish carmaker TOGG -- for their planned 30 billion lira ($1.8 billion) investment in the factory.

The joint venture aims to have 15 gigawatt hour capacity and will be exempted from some customs and value added taxes, get discounts on its energy use, and receive direct grants as high as 12.5% of total capital expenditure for the next decade, according to the decree published in the Official Gazette.

The plant will be the first of its kind in Turkey and is a key part of the domestic car project undertaken by TOGG, a firm that serves as an umbrella organization for five companies that are building their first car factory in Gemlik. 

Their planned investment will enable the production of five models, including SUVs, and a total output of 175,000 vehicles annually, a target to be reached gradually in the years following the first car’s production in 2022.

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