Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automakers
December 08, 2020 06:34 AM

Ford gets ready to build VW Transporter van in Turkey, helped by $2.6B investment

Nick Gibbs
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    VW will transfer production of the T6 van to Ford's Transit plant in Turkey, German press reports said.

    Ford's 20.5 billion Turkish lira ($2.6 billion) investment to increase capacity at its Transit van factory in Turkey will enable the plant to build the Volkswagen Transporter midsize van at the plant, a source familiar with the matter said.

    Ford's joint venture company in Turkey, Ford Otosan, said last week that it will invest in its Kocaeli plant near Izmit, to increase the plant's annual capacity to 650,000 units from 440,000 by the middle of 2026.

    The money will be used for "long-term new-generation commercial vehicle projects," Ford Otosan said in a filing to the Turkish stock exchange.

    Ford and VW announced an industrial alliance in 2019 for the joint engineering and production of vans, as well as other projects such as autonomous cars and an electric car for Ford on VW's MEB platform.

    The companies said Ford would engineer and build a new VW Transporter van alongside its next Transit Custom van, with production starting in 2022. They also said VW would build a compact van for Ford alongside its VW Caddy in Poznan, Poland.

    VW began sales of its fifth-generation Caddy last month and the Ford version to replace the Tourneo/Transit Connect is due next year.

    Ford and VW have not said where the Ford-based VW Transporter will be built but the source said that it will be at Ford's Kocaeli plant.

    Ford

    Ford builds the Transit van at its plant in Turkey.

    Ford did not confirm that the Turkish investment was to incorporate the Transporter. "This latest investment supports Ford's leadership position and increasing growth in the European commercial vehicle market," the company said in an emailed statement to Automotive News Europe.

    VW currently builds T6 passenger and commercial versions of the Transporter at its factory in Hanover, Germany.  When the Ford-VW alliance was announced in 2019, labor leaders at the factory demanded assurances from VW that the factory's future would be secured.

    Last month, VW said it will invest in Hanover to build the ID Buzz, a modern, full-electric version of VW's Microbus that became a 1960s icon, along with three full-electric midsize SUV models for other VW Group brands.

    VW did not specify which models these will be. Handelsblatt newspaper reported that they will be flagship electric cars for Audi, Porsche, Bentley developed under the codename "Landjet."

    Reports in the German press say that the next-generation VW Transporter, called T7 for the seventh generation, will use VW Group's MQB platform for passenger cars. The platform is not suitable for heavy loads so the current T6 will continue to be sold alongside the T7 for commercial users until Ford's new version of the Transit is available to VW in 2024.

    Commercial versions of the T6 will be transferred to Ford Otosan, Handelsblatt has reported.

    VW will launch the T7 next year and will only build 25,000 units over its five-year lifecycle because it plans to focus on the ID Buzz, auto-motor-sport reported in October.

    Ford's partnership with VW also calls for Ford to engineer and build a new pickup for Europe and other markets due in 2022 that will replace both the current Ranger and the VW Amarok.

    The two companies said earlier this year that they could produce 8 million commercial vehicles over the lifetime of the collaboration.

    The partnership will also see Ford using VW's MEB electric platform to build a mass-market battery-powered car positioned below Ford's forthcoming Mach E SUV. The Ford MEB car will be built in its plant in Cologne and will go on sale in 2023, according to German media reports.

    DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up and get the top news of the day in Europe every business weekday.
    Battery assembly

    The investment in Turkey includes money to build a battery assembly facility that will produce packs for an electric version of the Transit that will go on sale in 2022.

    The investment represents one of the biggest recent announcements of a cash injection into the Turkish automotive industry, which was dealt a blow earlier this year when VW announced it was no longer pursuing a plan to build a new plant there after reassessing its capacity needs.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    New Toyota CEO Koji Sato faces big challenges in critical new era
    Recommended for You
    satoandakio.jpg
    New Toyota CEO Koji Sato faces big challenges in critical new era
    Tesla Model 3 red web_0.jpg
    UK has concerns over U.S. green subsidy act, finance minister says
    Renault Douai_Plant
    Renault will offer workers 7.5% pay increase, report says
    Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sponsored Content: Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us