Toyota to begin hybrid car production in Turkey this year

ISTANBUL

A Toyota Prius Hybrid is displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, January 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Toyota Motor Corp will begin production of a new hybrid engine model based on the C-HR concept in Turkey by year-end with an investment of more than 350 million euros ($396 million), Toyota’s chief executive of Europe, Johan van Zyl, said on Feb. 11, as reported by Reuters. 

He told a news conference that the investment would create more than 1,000 jobs and that Toyota’s Turkish production capacity would nearly double to 280,000 vehicles. 

He noted the new model will be the first hybrid motor vehicle produced in Turkey. 

“This shows how Toyota Turkey is of importance in our company’s Europe strategy… We want to thank the Turkish government for its support and we aim to make a contribution to the development of the local automotive industry,” he said. 

The investment will increase the company’s total investment in Turkey to 1.7 billion euros. It currently has a factory in the northwestern province of Sakarya, where it produces its Corolla and Verso models.

According to company representatives, some 80 percent of the output will be exported, mainly to the European markets, while the name of the new model will be launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March.