08.11.2025 19:39
A businessman, T.G., operating in the automotive and entertainment sectors in İzmir, narrowly escaped death when his Porsche electric car, valued at 18 million lira, caught fire last year. While the fire reports from the fire department and expert witnesses indicated a manufacturing defect, engineers from the brand's headquarters rejected this claim. T.G. has taken the matter to court.
Businessman T.G., who operates in the automotive and entertainment sectors, set off towards Çeşme to celebrate his son's birthday with the Porsche car he purchased from the brand's Turkey distributor Vosmer six months before the incident. While driving, T.G. noticed smoke rising from the front of the vehicle and pulled the car over to the side of the road. However, the car suddenly locked itself, trapping driver T.G. inside.
DOORS LOCKED, COULD NOT EXIT THE VEHICLE
As the flames grew rapidly, T.G. experienced a great panic. He accidentally found and pressed the emergency unlock button in the car's digital system and managed to open the doors. Slightly injured by the flames and thick smoke, T.G. escaped the vehicle at the last moment. Fire crews that arrived at the scene after the alert extinguished the fire, but the vehicle was completely rendered unusable.
CASH MONEY ALSO BURNED
The unfortunate man, who was carrying a large sum of cash obtained from a car sale in his vehicle, tried to save some of the money during the fire, but most of it was burned and rendered unusable. After the fire, the vehicle was towed to the service of the company from which T.G. purchased the car. The report prepared by the fire department stated that the cause of the fire was due to a manufacturing defect. Forensic expert reports also determined that the fire originated from a component called HVD (High Voltage Distribution) in the vehicle's electrical system. However, three months later, Porsche engineers from Germany claimed that the fire was not due to a manufacturing defect. T.G., who narrowly escaped with his life, later could not recover his property after receiving a response from the brand and took the matter to court through his lawyer Harun Ümit Eren, filing a criminal complaint against the brand.
"MY CLIENT CAME FACE TO FACE WITH DEATH"
T.G.'s lawyer Harun Ümit Eren stated in a statement regarding the incident that his client experienced significant trauma. Eren included the following statements in his explanation: "My client, while driving his Porsche Taycan, which he purchased about 9 months before the fire, noticed flames coming from the left front side of the driver's seat on the Yeşildere highway. He quickly pulled the car over, but the doors locked. He could not exit the vehicle, and the mechanical levers and buttons did not work. His left leg and face began to burn. By chance, he was able to press an unlock button on the digital screen, opened the doors, and threw himself out. There is a great deal of luck in this incident. My client was on the way to celebrate his children's birthday at that time. If his wife and children had also been in the vehicle, the outcome could have been much more tragic."
"FIRE DEPARTMENT AND FORENSIC REPORTS SHOW MANUFACTURING DEFECT"
Lawyer Eren stated that technical examinations revealed that the fire originated from the HVD component in the vehicle's electrical system, saying, "A report prepared by an impartial forensic expert clearly indicates that the fire was caused by deformation in an electronic part used in the transition from the battery to the inverter. There is also a fire department report in the same direction. However, Porsche engineers from Germany came three months later, prepared a different report, and claimed that there was no manufacturing defect. We believe this report is technically insufficient. My client has suffered significant material and moral damage. We have not received the attention we expected from Germany and Turkey," he said.
"WE TRUST THE TURKISH JUDICIARY"
Eren stated that Porsche Germany and Turkey did not take responsibility for remedying the victimization, using the following expressions: "My client expected a fair solution from a leading brand in the world. However, he was left alone throughout the process. We have applied to the Turkish judiciary and will also follow this incident on international platforms. Lives are not cheap in Turkey. We believe that justice will be served sooner or later."