Ford Otosan, a joint venture between Ford Motor and Koc Holding, said it had started production of the all-electric Ford Transit model. The production of this model is included in the 2 billion euro investment to increase production capacity.
With such an investment, the company would become the first major auto company to produce all-electric vehicles in Turkey in large volumes. The manufactured E-Transit model will be sold in Europe and manufactured at the company’s factory in Kocaeli, northwest Turkey.
Ford Otosan, which is jointly owned by US automaker and biggest Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding, will increase the plant’s annual vehicle capacity to 650,000 units from 455,000 units under an announced 2 billion euro investment in 2020. An assembly line will be set up for the production of at least 130,000 batteries in factory.
Ford officials say more than 5,000 orders have been received for the fully electric vehicle, which is now on sale in Europe. Sales of vehicles in the domestic market will also start this year.
