Hürriyet/Milliyet – Tofas, a JV between Turkish Koc Group and Italian Fiat, has announced a significant upgrade program to renew its production line in Türkiye. As a key supplier and R&D center of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Tofas plans to begin manufacturing a new station wagon (SW) and a hatchback model in Türkiye by 2016.
The statement from the company said that the production of the two new models would run from 2016 to 2023 at an investment cost of USD 520 million. Some 700,000 vehicles will be manufactured, primarily for export markets.
The company had previously announced a sedan type car and a new Doblo commercial vehicle to be manufactured in its Bursa plant in Türkiye. While production of the new sedan to replace the Linea model will start in 2015, the revamped Doblo has already reached markets worldwide. The SW and the hatchback bring the total amount of investments to be made in Tofas Bursa plant to USD 1.4 billion, and along with the new sedan, they constitute Fiat’s new compact class lineup.
Tofas currently has a production capacity of 400,000 vehicles per year. The company’s Doblo line is being exported to over 80 countries worldwide.