Ford Otomotiv Sanayi, owned by Ford Motor and Koc Holding, will start selling Transit vans in the second half of this year, after the model at the Geneva motor show in March, Hurriyet reported.
Ford Otosan, as the company is known, will make 320,000 new Transits annually with the addition of a second model in 2013, the Istanbul-based newspaper said, citing chief executive Nuri Otay.
The Golcuk plant in northwest Turkey will be the main production centre for the Transit, which will be exported worldwide, except for the American continent, according to Hurriyet. Ford’s three-year investment for the new Transit will total US$630m, the newspaper said.
Ford Otosan makes the smaller Transit Connect which is widely exported, including to North America.