Aksam - Ford Otosan, the JV established by Türkiye’s Koc Holding and American carmaker Ford, has launched Türkiye’s largest single-site research development (R&D) center in Istanbul’s Sancaktepe.
The TRY 68 million (approx. USD 25 million) center will employ 1,200 engineers as well as the latest technologies in motor vehicle and engine design, including a CAVE virtual reality system, a first for Türkiye’s automotive industry.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Koc Holding Board Member and Chairman of Ford Otosan Ali Koc said that Ford Otosan was its parent company’s commercial vehicle production hub in Europe. “The company exported USD 300 million worth of engineering services to other Ford divisions in the last 5 years,” he noted.
Barb Samardzich, Vice President and CEO of Ford of Europe underlined Ford Otosan’s importance to Ford’s global operations, saying, “Ford Otosan is an integral part of Ford’s One Ford global product development team, and the engineers from Turkish engineering schools working at Ford Otosan in this new facility are among the best educated and most proficient in the world.”
Ford Otosan directly employs 10,000 people in Türkiye, and operates three vehicle assembly plants and an engine plant.