♦ Following the worldwide reorganization, the Craiova plant is “transferred” to Ford Otosan, a joint venture between Koç Holdings, Turkey’s largest company with a turnover of more than 30 billion euros, and Ford Motor Company. Koç Holdings already owns Arctic in Romania and has already invested 320 million euros there.
The Ford plant in Craiova will be included in the portfolio of Ford Otosan, following a decision adopted by the Ford Motor Company with the reorganization of the American giant internationally. The plant in Romania will be sold in a transaction divided into two “tranches” – the first of 575 million euros, and the second of 140 million euros conditioned by volumes. Ford Romania is currently the second largest player in the local car industry, with annual turnover of about 2 billion euros.
Ford Otosan is a real “giant” in Turkey, with three plants and a research and development division. Ford Otosan (Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.S.) is 41% owned by Ford Motor Company and 41% by Koç Holding A.S., and 18% of the company is listed on the stock exchange. Ford Otosan has 11,000 employees, exports nearly $ 6 billion, and produces 455,000 commercial vehicles, 70,000 engines and 140,000 trains annually. By taking over the Craiova plant, Ford Otosan thus marks the entry into the European Union market.
Koç Holding, the shareholder of Ford Otosan, is already present in Romania through Arçelik, the owner of Arctic. Arçelik has already invested € 320 million in Arctic, including a € 150 million investment in the new plant in Ulmi, Dambovita County.
“This transfer shows how Ford leverages its strategic partnerships to make the most efficient use of existing resources through joint investment, while benefiting from Ford Otosan’s extensive experience.”
“We welcome this opportunity to strengthen our partnership with Koç Holdings through Ford Otosan and to develop this joint venture together. The activity of the factory in Craiova is a success and we consider that through the experience and expertise of Ford Otosan in electrification and commercial vehicles, it can reach an even higher level of development “, he added.
The Americans have already announced for a year that they will produce a new van in Craiova, which will also have an electric version, so that their plan, although announced today, was made at least 12 months ago. However, the announcement comes just days after the visit of Kamala Harris, the US vice president, who came to Bucharest last week, on Friday, March 11, but in the context of the war in Ukraine.
On the other hand, Ford announced that an electric Puma model will be produced in Craiova from 2024, in addition to the future Transit and Tourneo Courier, which will also have an electric version produced in Romania from 2024. From next year, the two new vans will go into production, and towards the end of this year, the production of the EcoSport SUV will be stopped.
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