Ford is accelerating the transformation of its business in Europe as it moves to an all-electric future, transferring ownership of its Craiova plant to Ford Otosan.
Ford Otosan is a Turkish vehicle manufacturer, jointly owned by Ford Motor Company and Koc Holding. The takeover of Ford’s Romanian factory allows the manufacturer to take advantage of the plant’s production power in partnership with Ford Otosan’s experience in commercial vehicle design and engineering.
Ford and Koc will be investing almost half a billion Euros (£415m) into the Romanian plant over the next three years, allowing production to be expanded to support Ford’s electrification and commercial vehicle growth plans for Europe.
“Ford is leveraging strategic partnerships to better utilise resources by sharing investments and benefitting from a wider pool of expertise thereby boosting its electric and commercial vehicle capacity in Europe,” said Stuart Rowley, chair, Ford of Europe.
While factory ownership and refurbishment plans aren’t necessarily that exciting, this plays a huge part in how the UK’s roads will look in the future; the next-generation Transit Courier was designed and engineered by Ford Otosan, and will be produced in the Romanian factory in Craiova. Both van combi models will be produced there, as well as the all-electric version that will start production in 2024.
“With the Craiova plant acquisition, Ford Otosan is expanding its manufacturing experience and capabilities into international operations,” said Güven Ozyurt, general manager, Ford Otosan.
“Highly skilled employees of Craiova and their outstanding work in producing some of the most appreciated Ford products will build on Ford Otosan’s success story. Craiova will benefit from the skill base and knowledge transfer through Ford Otosan’s experience in designing, engineering, and building commercial vehicles as well as electrification.”
By 2026, Ford in Europe plans to sell 600,000 electric vehicles annually, both cars and vans, supporting the global goal of producing more than two million electric vehicles a year by 2026.
Ford acquired the facility in Craiova 14 years ago, investing $2 billion (£1.7bn) to transform it into a state-of-the-art manufacturing site. By transferring ownership to Ford Otosan, the Turkish firm cements its position as the largest commercial vehicle producer in Europe.
At the official handover event held in Craiova and attended by the Prime Minister of Romania and representatives from Ford Otosan, Rowley said, “The Craiova operations have a strong record of delivering world-class competitiveness and flexibility. This initiative will support Ford’s strategy to continue building a thriving business in Europe and to deliver against the target of zero emissions for all vehicle sales and carbon neutrality across its European footprint of facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035.”
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