Koç Holding’s automotive arm and new model named best in Europe

ISTANBUL

Koç Holding Automotive Group has been named the best company in Europe of 2015 and its new Fiat Aegea has been named best car by AUTOBEST, one of the world’s most prestigious international automotive award ceremonies. 

The Fiat Aegea was designed by Koç Holding with its foreign partner Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and is produced in their joint venture Tofaş facility in Turkey’s northwestern province of Bursa.

Koç Holding and Tofaş Chairman Mustafa V. Koç said it was a great honor to receive the two awards. 

“We are so pleased to receive these awards at a time when we have been making the largest investments of our corporate history both in Turkey and abroad. The Fiat Aegea Project has marked a turning point in the history of Tofaş as one of the most successful end-products of the Koç Holding-FCA partnership. The first model of the project, the Fiat Aegea Sedan, will be sold in more than 40 markets. The model has already created a boom in its first markets, Turkey and Italy,” Koç said in a statement on Dec. 15. 

Production started in September

Tofaş started producing the model on Sept. 28, and with FCA it has invested more than $1.5 billion in the project so far. A majority of this investment has been made in R&D activities and innovation, company representatives say. 

The award-winning Koç-FCA compact sedan will be sold under the name “Tipo” in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. But in Turkey the car has been so successful that it will keep the name “Aegea” (Egea), inspired by the Aegean Sea. 

With a total of 1,492 points, the Fiat Tipo/Aegea clinched first place by 7 points to win the award over the Opel Astra, according to the AUTOBEST website. The Hyundai Tucson came in third with a total of 1,145 points. The Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3 closely followed in the overall rankings. 

 In a press release on the AUTOBEST website, AUTOBEST Founder & Chairman Dan Vardie said the new Tipo family “was built around the strategy ‘a great car for a budget’ and not a ‘budget car.’ 

“The result is an outstanding product, with all the ingredients needed by an average customer in Europe. Design, engines, perceived quality, comfort, versatility. Tipo is the new expression of the functional side of the Fiat brand ... On behalf of AUTOBEST, it is my pleasure to congratulate all the people involved in the Tipo/Aegea project … for this wonderful confirmation of their outstanding job,” Vardie added. 

Koç Holding is Turkey’s most valuable company, and is the only Turkish company listed in Fortune Global 500 list. The group enjoys leading positions in the automotive, energy, finance and white goods sectors. Koç Holding Automotive Group - covering Tofaş, JV with  FCA, Ford Otosan, JV with Ford Motor Co., TürkTraktör, JV with CNH, Otokar, and Otokoç - is the leader in the Turkish automotive sector in terms of sales, exports and production. It covers the Ford, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Jeep, Ferrari, Maserati, New Holland and Case brands.