75 out of every 100 commercial vehicles exported set off for European roads from here

In a statement made by the company to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), it was stated that approximately 1 billion euros in investment expenditure had been made as of the end of September 2023 for the new generation 1-ton medium commercial vehicles to be produced at the Yeniköy Factory. The statement said, "With these investments, the indoor area of the factory has been increased from 110 thousand m2 to 255 thousand m2 and the production capacity from 68 thousand units to 245 thousand units. With ongoing investments, the facility's capacity is projected to reach 405 thousand units in 2025."

On the other hand, the statement noted that the production of 1-ton commercial vehicles at the Gölcük Factory, which currently has a production capacity of 195 thousand 1-ton medium commercial vehicles and 190 thousand Transit vehicles, has been shifted to the Yeniköy Factory, adding, "Production at the Gölcük Factory has been focused on the Transit model, and the production capacity for the Transit model has been updated to 207 thousand units."

The factory will also produce the new generation 1-ton Volkswagen commercial vehicle, which is part of the Ford and Volkswagen partnership. With the investment made, the production capacity of the facility in Yeniköy will increase 4-fold.

Ali Koç: We announced the investment at the most uncertain time

At the opening, Koç Holding Vice Chairman of the Board and Ford Otosan Chairman of the Board Ali Koç stated that the renovated Yeniköy Factory would strengthen their position as Europe's leading electric commercial vehicle manufacturer, adding, "However, our dreams for tomorrow go far beyond these. Our Yeniköy Factory will serve these dreams of ours."

The opening of the Yeniköy Factory, which Ford Otosan redesigned with innovative and efficient solutions, was held with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Koç said that they are in a special year in which they are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the glorious and honorable history of the Republic with enthusiasm.

Talking about the history and investments of the Koç Group, Koç described the work they carried out in the region following the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes.

Pointing out that they have grown together with Turkey and created value for the country, Koç said, "Mr. President, how happy we are that the partners we do business with have always continued to trust both our group and Turkey."

Touching upon the work Ford Otosan has done in Turkey, Koç said, "Since the day it was founded, Ford Otosan has continued to make large investments in human resources and R&D. Today, we are reaping the fruits of these. We have seen by living it that everything is centered on people. Thank God, we have become the pioneer of the Turkish automotive sector. We have realized many firsts."

Expressing that they continue to invest in Turkey's future, Koç said, "As we enter the second century of the Republic, we are putting our Yeniköy Factory, which we call the 'factory of the future,' into service by expanding it nearly 4 times and making it even more modern. We took the first step of this great happiness on March 16, 2021, in the presence of our President again, at a meeting we held under your hosting, where you encouraged us with the support and incentives of our state, and we took the first step there."

Reminding that the pandemic process was being experienced at that time, Koç stated the following:

"In such an uncertain period, we announced our 2 billion euro strategic investment, which we named our 'future vision.' This figure is the largest investment in the Turkish automotive sector. It is also an ambitious vision project whose impact will last at least 10 years. That day, we said, 'As Europe's commercial vehicle production leader and Turkey's export champion, we will also lead the electrification transformation of the automotive industry.' In this direction, we moved quickly to implement our new generation electric and connected commercial vehicle projects. Two and a half years later, in the presence of our President, we are experiencing the pride and excitement of having realized the projects we committed to in a way worthy of the 100th anniversary of our Republic."

Explaining that the factory represents the beginning of a brand new era in terms of industrial excellence standards, Koç said, "Our factory will strengthen and consolidate our position as Europe's leading electric commercial vehicle manufacturer, but our dreams for tomorrow go far beyond these. Our Yeniköy Factory will serve these dreams of ours. There is a huge added value it will create directly, employment, exports, taxes... But besides this, the issue that excites us the most is that it will develop our supply ecosystem, therefore the global competitiveness of Turkey's automotive sub-industry and Turkey's automotive ecosystem will increase even further and will serve beyond our borders. I would like to emphasize our gratitude to the people and institutions that have always stood by us on this exciting journey. Mr. President, you are also a big part of this journey."

Koç also thanked the relevant ministries and institutions for their support.

"WE HAVE BEEN EUROPE'S BEST-SELLING COMMERCIAL VEHICLE BRAND FOR THE LAST 8 CONSECUTIVE YEARS"

Ford Pro Europe General Manager Hans Schep also stated that their Ford Otosan partnerships have been producing commercial vehicles for over half a century, and said that they are at the center of Ford's business in Europe.

Explaining that they have been Europe's best-selling commercial vehicle brand for the last 8 consecutive years, Schep noted that as a leading brand, they want to improve their customers' vehicle ownership experience.

Schep emphasized that they are constantly working to innovate rapidly and offer new technologies, and to facilitate engineering and production while adding valuable scale to vehicle platforms, and stated that their market-leading Transit vehicles are produced at the Kocaeli facilities.

Stating that the facilities with the latest technology offer them serious efficiency and operational quality in terms of competitiveness, Schep emphasized that they have carried their commercial vehicles into a new electric era with the investments they have made with Ford Otosan with the support of the Turkish government.

"75 OUT OF EVERY 100 COMMERCIAL VEHICLES EXPORTED SET OFF FOR EUROPEAN ROADS FROM HERE"

Ford Otosan General Manager Güven Özyurt also stated that the Kocaeli facilities are the largest commercial vehicle production center not only in Turkey but in all of Europe, and said that 75 out of every 100 commercial vehicles exported from Turkey set off for European roads from here.

Expressing that their models that shape trade, the Transit Custom, have enabled Ford to be the leader in the commercial vehicle market in Europe for 8 consecutive times, Özyurt said, "The new generation Transit Custom, which we have started to produce in this factory, will carry this success even further. Thus, we will further increase our exports and consolidate our export leadership in Turkey and the automotive sector. I must state that all of these are not a coincidence, that there is an R&D and production focus that we have never given up on since the day we were founded, and that we are fueled by our determination to achieve better every time."

Özyurt emphasized that they constantly invest in their employees and improve both their leadership and technical and technological competencies.

Explaining that they have equipped their production processes and facilities with digital infrastructure and that they continue on their way with the goal of data-based production management, Özyurt stated that their Yeniköy Factory was commissioned with its end-to-end digital infrastructure from the very first day.

Stating that they have increased their annual production capacity nearly 4-fold to 405 thousand units in the factory, whose indoor area has increased 2.5 times to 255 thousand square meters, Özyurt said, "With this growth in Yeniköy, we will now see a Ford Otosan that reaches a production of 900 thousand vehicles per year in 2 countries. In the factory of the future, we are realizing many firsts in Turkey and at Ford in the fields of automation, architectural structure, and environmental sustainability. We follow our factory moment by moment in an end-to-end digital and connected way with real-time screens in the assembly and welding workshops. We are taking efficiency to the next level in our welding and assembly workshops, which have a double-decker design envisioned by our own engineers."

Stating that they generate electricity from the glass walls that make up the entire side facade in the welding workshop, Özyurt said that the solar panels on the roof will provide energy savings equivalent to the annual consumption of 1300 households.

Özyurt added that they have become the only integrated structure in Turkey that can produce both internal combustion and hybrid and electric vehicles together with full flexibility.

TOURNEO CUSTOM AND E-TOURNEO CUSTOM VEHICLES BROUGHT TO THE STAGE

Before President Erdoğan took the podium, the Tourneo Custom and E-Tourneo Custom vehicles were brought to the stage.

After the speeches, Ali Koç presented a painting to President Erdoğan. Later, President Erdoğan and the accompanying protocol members cut the opening ribbon of the factory.

President Erdoğan took a photo with Ford Otosan executives and employees.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, AK Party Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitaş, Chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology Commission and AK Party Bursa Deputy Mustafa Varank, AK Party Kocaeli deputies Radiye Sezer Katırcıoğlu, Mehmet Akif Yılmaz, Veysal Tipioğlu, Sadettin Hülagü, Sami Çakır, Cemil Yaman, Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz, AK Party deputy chairmen Ali İhsan Yavuz and Nihat Zeybekci, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Büyükakın, Koç Holding Chairman of the Board Ömer M. Koç, Koç Holding CEO Levent Çakıroğlu, Koç Holding Automotive Group President Haydar Yenigün, and company officials.

News Source: 12punto