Volkswagen is exploring passenger car production in Türkiye with its local distributor Doğuş Otomotiv, six years after abandoning an earlier factory project.
Doğuş said in an Oct. 30 filing to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) that it had signed a letter of intent with Volkswagen Group companies to assess production options.
No final investment decision, location, capacity or timetable has been announced.
A Volkswagen spokeswoman told German trade publication Automobil Produktion that the companies were examining imports of partly assembled vehicles from plants outside Europe for the Turkish market.
Automobilwoche reported that models developed in China could be assembled in Türkiye for export to markets including Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.
Volkswagen has not confirmed those details.
The discussions coincide with VW’s efforts to cut costs and reduce excess production capacity.
Its Future Plan 2030, approved in September, envisages halving its model range by 2035 and offering fewer variants to reduce costs.
Doğuş has also been seeking to expand its partnership with VW beyond Türkiye.
In 2025, it signed letters of intent covering Volkswagen passenger car sales and after-sales services in Iraq, Azerbaijan and Syria.
The EU is meanwhile negotiating “Made in Europe” rules for vehicles eligible for public procurement and financial support.
A Franco-German proposal would allow Britain conditional access while leaving Türkiye outside its scope. The proposal has yet to become law.
Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ, who heads the Türkiye-Europe business councils at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), welcomed the step.
He said VW’s interest in Turkish production was encouraging as the company scaled back elsewhere.
Volkswagen abandoned its earlier plan for a factory in Manisa in 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic developments.
