Hyundai unit to double production to 200,000

İZMİT - Anatolia News Agency

No one should expect the government to handle a turn-key car plant for the production of a domestic car brand, says Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan. AA photo

South Korean car maker Hyundai and Assan Holding will double their car production in Turkey to 200,000 items annually with a $607 million investment, Assan Chairman Ali Kibar said yesterday in the western province of İzmit, according to Doğan news agency.

Huyndai Assan has estimated they will make more than $2 billion in exports thanks to new investment, which is planned to be completed in two years.

The incentive scheme has had a large and positive effect on the company’s new investment decision said Kibar yesterday at the launch ceremony for Hyundai’s new i20 model.

Hyundai Assan Automotive will make $382 million, current sub-industry firms will make $121 million and four newly established sub-industry firms will stand to make $104 million investment, he said. Investments will surpass 1 billion Turkish liras and will create 2,389 additional jobs, he said, noting that domestic share in manufacturing cars will rise to 67 percent.

“We want to be market leader in A and B segments in Turkey,” Kibar said.

If a free trade agreement between Turkey and South Korea goes in to effect in no time, this will accelerate Hyundai Assan’s new investment decisions, he said, according to Reuters.

The deal is signed and will go into effect in one or two months, said Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan at the ceremony.

The minister was in Istanbul attending the Automotive Design Competition, where he said criticisms on the incentive scheme regarding the automotive sector were unfair.

“No one should expect the government to handle a turn-key car plant for the production of a domestic car brand. This is a thing of the past,” he said.

Automotive is among a priority sector for the Ministry of Economy, he said adding that, they wanted to turn the sector into a more value added and high technology structure.

Touching Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan’s call for a domestic car brand, he said Turkey should produce a car which Turkish engineers do the design for and has a high domestic manufacturing share.