Siegfried Marcus Automobile investment claims revealed as false

Media ombudsman Faruk Bildirici has revealed that widespread reports regarding a massive investment from a German automotive giant, ‘Siegfried Marcus Automobile’, are based on a non-existent company. Numerous Turkish news outlets and agencies reported that the brand had completed European type approvals and planned significant production investments in Turkey.

Investigation shows that ‘Siegfried Marcus’ is not a contemporary automotive manufacturer but the name of an Austrian inventor and engineer who developed early gasoline vehicles in 1870. While an antique car museum exists in his name in Austria, there is no registered mass-production car factory or brand by that name in Germany.

The claims were centered around Özgür Baklan, a former executive of a food wholesale family company, who identified himself as the largest shareholder and co-founder of the purported brand. Records indicate that a company previously known as Özgür Baklan Global Otomotiv was renamed to Siegfried Marcus Global Otomotiv in August 2026.