Start-up EV Company Automates Assembly

Everyone is getting into the electric vehicle manufacturing business these days. Besides the U.S. and China, EV start-ups are popping up in Australia, Finland, India and Vietnam, just to name a few. One of the newest is in Turkey.

Togg is a new EV OEM headquartered in Gebze, a suburb of Istanbul. The company was founded as a joint venture by five Turkish companies in 2018. (The company’s name is an acronym of Türkiye’nin Otomobili Girişim Grubu, which translates to Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group.) In 2022, Togg opened its first assembly plant in Gemlik, about 80 southeast of Istanbul, next to the company’s subsidiary, Siro, which produces lithium-ion batteries for EVs.

Sales of the first vehicle, the Togg T10X, a compact crossover SUV, started in March 2023 and quickly took off. Togg sold 4,145 vehicles in the first three months of 2024, surpassing its closest competitor by 2,533 units. The company’s market share in the EV market in Turkey now stands at 30 percent.

Sales are expected to grow from there. The company’s second model, the T10F fastback sedan, was unveiled in January at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Togg is expected to manufacture three other models, a hatchback, a midsized SUV, and a multipurpose vehicle, by 2030.

Togg sold 4,145 vehicles in the first three months of 2024, surpassing its closest competitor by 2,533 units. Photo courtesy Togg

Togg’s timing could not be better. Some 14,158 fully electric cars were sold in Turkey in the first quarter of 2024, a 275 percent increase from the previous quarter. Fully electric cars now represent 6 percent of vehicle sales in the country, while hybrid cars account for 14 percent of sales.

Togg is expected to produce a total of 1 million vehicles by 2032, according to Fatih Kacır, Turkey’s industry and technology minister. “The target is to manufacture 175,000 Togg vehicles in five years,” he predicts. “Charging stations with 1,662 outlets are now available in 81 provinces of Turkey.”

A Better Paint Shop

Meeting such ambitious targets requires automation, and Togg’s Gemlik assembly plant is state of the art. Some 250 robots are employed throughout the plant, which can produce 20 vehicles per hour. The facility is also one of the most environmentally friendly auto plants in Europe.

Dürr Systems planned and built the paint shop and supplied systems for final assembly, test and inspection.

The turnkey paint shop project was awarded to Dürr in 2020, and the order for the final assembly system followed in 2021. Dürr covered all plant engineering and application technology, including marrying bodies and chassis, and final test and inspection.

Togg boasts that its paint line is the cleanest in Europe.

“The pretreatment and cathodic electrocoating systems are already rated for Togg’s final expansion stage, while plans include provision for doubling up of all other power units in the layout,” explains Bruno Welsch, president and CEO of Dürr’s paint and final assembly division. “As a result, Togg can react quickly if capacity requirements increase. The company can add a second oven or even an entire line.”

Togg opted for a lean painting process to minimize energy demand. The base coat and clear coat of the internal and external paint finish are applied in a single topcoat line with integrated primer application, eliminating one drying phase. The solvent-based paints contain 30 to 35 percent more solid content than standard paints to achieve the required layer thicknesses with lower discharge rates.

Six-axis robots paint vehicle bodies. Photo courtesy Togg

Dürr’s EcoDryScrubber dry separation system concentrates the solvents released into the exhaust air automatically and separates the overspray, which saves resources. The system requires virtually no water and very little energy for air conditioning, which is usually one of the highest energy consumption processes in painting. Spray booth air recirculation of up to 95 percent means that heat and electricity consumption are reduced by up to 80 percent and 50 percent, respectively. This reduction also pays off economically, with energy consumption reduced by up to 60 percent.

Togg goes well beyond the legal requirements with one additional measure to protect the environment. Dürr’s Oxi.X, a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) disposes of the booth exhaust air. To save energy, the RTO can be operated auto thermally—in other words, without a primary energy supply for the burner.

Next-generation Dürr robots apply the paint, including the seven-axis EcoRP E043i, which is mobile enough to paint open tailgates and doors from the inside. A unique technical feature is the EcoBell 3 atomizers equipped with two main needles, which apply colored clear coats for particularly shiny surfaces. The second main needle eliminates time-consuming rinse cycles, reducing detergent consumption and ensuring the fastest color changes within the required cycle time.

At this automated test stand, sensors provide 3D measurements of axle geometries and align them with a high level of precision and reliability.Photo courtesy Dürr Systems AG

Automated Assembly

NEXT.assembly, Dürr’s bundled technology system for final assembly, is the basis for the assembly line at the factory. In the past, automotive assembly lines were often designed one segment or process at a time. With Dürr’s NEXT.assembly concept, the final assembly line is considered as a whole unit, making vehicle assembly as efficient as possible.

“Togg is the first car manufacturer to choose a complete system from our final assembly offerings. We developed a highly customized, resource-conscious system that results in high synergy and efficiency at all levels along the whole line with precisely coordinated processes,” reports Andreas Hohmann, vice president for consulting and NEXT.assembly at Dürr.

Dürr’s overhead conveyors ensure efficient transfer of parts and subassemblies. A total of 57 lightweight overhead conveyors transport vehicle doors on a separate assembly line. Another 50 heavy-duty overhead conveyors transport vehicle bodies. With the potential for future digitization, subsequent process integration or the addition of maintenance analysis tools is possible.

Some 50 heavy-duty overhead conveyors transport vehicle bodies throughout the plant. Photo courtesy Togg

One way Togg saves material on the door line is through precise dispensing of adhesives and sealants with Dürr’s EcoShot meter, which is suitable for almost all thick materials. Capable of metering both one- and two-part materials, the system can also dispense urethane adhesives for window bonding. At Togg, EcoShot is part of a fully automatic system for bonding windows and panoramic glass roofs. The process happens while vehicle bodies are being conveyed, making it more efficient than the typical stop-and-go process, where the conveyor must stop for window installation.

The process of marrying vehicle bodies and chassis occurs on a line divided into seven stations, including a fully automatic screwdriving station with six spindles. They fasten the front-axle module, the battery and the rear-axle module automatically at a total of 30 attachment points. At a downstream station, assemblers manually install screws at an additional 14 attachment points.

The latter process can be easily automated in the future.

EVs do not require motor oil or gasoline, of course. However, EVs do have other fluids that need to be dispensed during final assembly, including battery coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid and windshield washer fluid. Dürr’s ProLine Cube system fills these fluids quickly and accurately.

At the end of the line, EVs are inspected and aligned at two wheel alignment stands. The stands are equipped with Dürr’s new x-3Dsurface sensors. These provide 3D measurements of axle geometries and align them with a high level of precision and reliability.

Dürr also provided technology for headlight measurement and adjustment, as well as calibration of driver assistance systems, such as the surround-view camera, forward-looking camera and forward-looking radar. Another test stand checks the brake systems.