Ford Otosan – Ford’s Turkey manufacturing JV – has officially launched vehicle production at a new vehicle production facility in Yeniköy, Turkey.
Ford executive chairman Bill Ford and Ali Koç, board member, Koç and chairman, Ford Otosan led the ceremony marking the start of production at the new US$511m plant, which is launching production of the Ford Transit Courier small commercial vehicle and Ford Tourneo Courier entry-level people-mover.
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Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan also attended the ceremony. Rahmi Koç, president, Koç, Mustafa Koç, chairman, Koç, plus senior government and local officials also attended the event.
“Ford Otosan is one of the longest-lasting and most successful joint ventures in the global auto industry and today marks another great milestone in this partnership,” said Bill Ford. “This new plant is a testament to the drive and commitment of the men and women of Ford Otosan, and our success will continue to grow as we move forward together.”
Added Koç, “Today is another milestone in the history of Ford Otosan in its fifty-fifth year of partnership between Ford Motor and Koç. Ford Otosan has been given the responsibility for producing two all-new vehicles for the completely refreshed Ford commercial vehicle and people-mover range and which will compete in growing market segments and be built in a brand new plant. This is a great opportunity to grow and prosper in the future.”
“The new Courier models were developed by 500 engineers in our R&D centre, which employs 1,300 skilled engineers. The vehicles also will help to support the Turkish supplier industry and provide new opportunities for export.”
Ford Otosan’s new Yeniköy plant
The new 70,000 square metre facility is located next to Ford Otosan’s existing Kocaeli vehicle assembly plant and is the third Ford Otosan plant to build Ford vehicles.
The Ford Tourneo Courier entry level people-mover and the Ford Transit Courier, Ford’s smallest commercial vehicle, will be sold in around 46 countries. The plant utilises the same advanced and environmentally-friendly manufacturing technologies that Ford has introduced across its global production facilities, and will be capable of building up to 110,000 vehicles a year.
The Ford Otosan joint venture is a more than 50 year old business partnership between Ford Motor and Koç, though the strong relationship between the two partners stretches back almost nine decades.
A core part of the One Ford global commercial vehicle plan, Ford Otosan currently builds the Cargo heavy truck, the Transit and Transit Custom medium commercial vehicles, the Tourneo Custom people-mover, and now the all-new Tourneo Courier entry-level people carrier and Transit Courier small commercial vehicle. Ford Otosan exports Ford vehicles to 106 markets globally.
