At the Ford Otosan facility in Kocaeli, Turkey, Ford Pro delivers the first units of its Ford E-Transit all-electric vans to clients in Europe. This historic occasion was commemorated at the plant in Gölcük in a ceremony attended by Turkish government officials, investors, employees, and press members. With solid demand for Ford E-Transit from European company owners – over 5,000 units have been purchased – Ford Otosan is approaching manufacturing capacity.
"Ford Otosan's Kocaeli factory is Europe's hub for Transit manufacturing. This celebration of Ford E-Transit production ushers in a new era of electrification for our existing strong collaboration," stated Hans Schep, CEO of Ford Pro Europe. "This is the first step in transforming the Kocaeli district. We will establish Europe's largest manufacturing facility for commercial electric cars."
Ford E-Transit is the all-electric variant of the world's best-selling van and the new spearhead for Ford Pro in this region. Ford Pro provides customers with a comprehensive set of software, charging, service, and financing solutions and a top portfolio of fully integrated vehicles available with electric and thermal propulsion. These solutions help operators improve productivity and downtime while lowering costs and simplifying access to everything they need, all on a platform built for the digital and electric era.
"Producing Ford e-Transit at our Kocaeli facility, powered entirely by renewable energy, is a source of pride for us and another milestone in our growing involvement in Ford's electrification strategy," said Güven Özyurt, general manager, Ford Otosan. "We feel that electrifying the famous Transit is a significant change and a necessary step toward Ford Otosan being the manufacturing basis for Ford electric commercial vehicles."
Ford Otosan is investing two billion euros and employing around 3,000 employees to enhance the vehicle production capacity, including the next generation of Ford Transit Custom models.
Ford's commitment to a completely electric future in Europe was underscored recently by the revelation that Ford, SK On Co., Ltd., and Koç Holding had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for a new top joint venture in the Turkish automotive sector. The three partners want to establish one of Europe's most extensive EV battery manufacturing facilities under the parameters of a final deal. Production is planned to begin in the mid-2020s, with an annual capacity between 30 and 45 gigawatts/hour.
Ford will continue to electrify its renowned Transit models to meet changing customer requirements, reaffirming its leadership position as the brand with the most outstanding commercial vehicle sales in Europe. By 2024, the E-Transit will be joined by four further all-electric Ford Transit models as Ford works toward a zero-emission objective for all cars sold in Europe and a carbon-neutral footprint for its units by 2035.
With its high level of competitiveness, payload, power, and variety of body styles, Ford E-Transit electric van is designed to make it simple for operators to electrify their fleets, enhancing their productivity through Ford Pro's loading telematics and service solutions.
Ford Pro has previously established the durability of Ford E-Transit vans via extensive testing at leading technology institutes worldwide. Ford now operates a program for select clients that includes 60 Ford E Transit vans in various body styles utilized daily in countries such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. As a result, Ford Pro can optimize the goods and services it offers to maximize corporate efficiency and production.
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