Tofaş to make $70 million investment with FCA Italy

ISTANBUL

The planned project will run between 2016 and 2021 with the planned production of 260,000 vehicles, a considerable portion of which will be exported, says Tofaş.

Turkish car maker Tofaş said on Feb. 23 its board of directors had approved the mini cargo facelift project for light commercial vehicles with FCA Italy, under which it plans to invest $70 million.

The project will run between 2016 and 2021 with a planned production of 260,000 vehicles, a considerable portion of which will be exported, the company said by a written statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) yesterday.

“For the first production phase, which is planned to begin in the first quarter of 2016 at the Tofaş facilities in the northwestern province of Bursa, around $70 million of investment will be made,” said the company.

Tofaş said it would concentrate on R&D activities and develop new models in another written statement on Jan. 19. The company also said it would secure up to 250 million euros of long-term foreign funds to use for investment in the commercial vehicle segment, without giving any details.

Tofaş, the automaker owned by Turkey’s Koç Holding and Italy’s Fiat, also said in November 2014 it would invest $1 billion to produce three new car models, mainly for export. The Bursa, Turkey-based carmaker aims to produce 1.3 million hatchbacks, station wagons and sedans between 2016 and 2023, it said in another written statement.