Auto giants flooding Turkey

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

This photo shows the Turkey’s Toyota production facility in Adapazarı northwestern Turkey. Toyota plans to reach full capacity at this plant producing 150,000 vehicles per year by 2014. It will double production this year.

Turkey is increasingly becoming a production hub for Japanese firms, according to Japanese daily Nikkei.
According to the source, Japanese firms such as Toyota and Honda, as well as South Korea’s Hyundai and Italy’s Fiat, are increasing their investments in Turkey.

“Turkey’s speed of development has caught the attention of producers, and with both their expectations regarding the domestic market and its strategic location close to Russia and the Middle East, these companies [are being prompted] to follow an aggressive approach toward developing countries in the region,” the Nikkei article said.

There are currently 14 foreign automotive firms that have invested in Turkey, meaning that the country has now surpassed Poland and is on par with the Czech Republic as a production base.

Toyota is planning to double its production capacity at its Adapazarı facility from last year to 130,000
vehicles and will hit a full capacity of 150,000 vehicles by 2014, according to Nikkei. Such figures would make the Adapazarı production facility one of Toyota’s leading production plants.

Toyota, which currently exports to 32 countries, will boost this number to 50 with the inclusion of exports to Tunisia, Egypt, as well as other Middle Eastern and ex-Soviet countries.

Honda doubles production
Honda, meanwhile, has also doubled its production of the Civic Sedan at its Kocaeli plant this year to 20,000. Some 35 percent of this capacity will be exported abroad. Honda also plans to increase its production to 25,000 vehicles by 2013 for export to the Middle East and ex-Soviet republics. Honda has also developed a research and development center in Turkey to develop products which will appeal to the local market, according to the source.

Isuzu Automotive and its partner, Türk Anadolu Grubu, have also increased production by 10 percent so far this year to 4,700 vehicles and plans to increase production by another 10 percent in 2013. However, 90 percent of the production will be geared toward the Turkish market.

Fiat will also launch production on its new-generation Doblo at its Bursa factory by the end of the year, while Hyundai plans to increase its production in Turkey two-fold by the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014.

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan is scheduled to go to Japan and Singapur today with a delegation of private sector representatives and will be there through July 23. He is expected to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement with Japanese officials and will also meet with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Japanese companies like Mitsubishi, Itohu, Mitsui, Daiichi, ITO Yokado, JGC, Mayekawa, AEON, and Japan Steel, according to the Economy Ministry press release. He will also outline Turkey’s new incentive scheme and encourage investors to come to Turkey.