Ford Otosan begins production of local truck engine in central Anatolia

ESKİŞEHİR

Ford Otosan, a joint venture between Koç Holding and Ford Company, has begun the mass production of a new generation Ecotorq truck engine, the first truck engine to be both developed and manufactured in Turkey. 

The truck engine, the intellectual property of which is owned by Ford Otosan, is being manufactured in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir with an investment of some $100 million and will be exported to various countries, from China to European countries and Latin America.

Ford Otosan Chairman Ali Koç said they were quite happy to launch the first and the only truck engine which was developed and produced in Turkey from scratch. 

“While we used to import technologies in previous years, we have now started to export them thanks to our high research and development capabilities. Our biggest aim is to increase our country’s competiveness in developing technologies and to turn it into a hub in this field. We can achieve this by creating and developing products with higher added value though systematic work by a qualified workforce. Although we have still miles to drive, I can say that the Turkish government’s R&D incentives and reforms have encouraged potential or real investors,” he said at the launch ceremony of the engine on March 30. 

He noted Koç Holding made over 4.6 billion Turkish Liras of R&D investments between 2007 and 2014. 
“We invested over 1.3 billion liras in such activities in only 2015. This is the most solid proof how we have trusted in the future of our country. According to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute [TÜİK], some 13 percent of the all R&D spending in Turkey is made by Koç Holding, which has 15 R&D centers and employs some 4,300 engineers,” Koç noted, adding the Ecotorq truck engine was one of the latest products of these R&D activities. 

Ford Otosan CEO Haydar Yenigün said over $100 million has been invested by the company for the Ecotorq truck engine so far. 

“This engine will be exported to many countries and regions, from China and Europe to the Middle East and Latin America, along with our Ford Trucks models,” he said.