Ford Otosan, which has been promoting its trucks in Turkey with its catchy slogan "Buy a Ford, be a lord" for 60 years, has become the only truck manufacturing and development center of the American automotive giant Ford Motor Company. Ford closed its factory in Brazil last week and put an end to the production of heavy commercial vehicles in South America, making Turkey a global production hub in this regard.
Ford Otosan, which once again brought the American automotive giant in the truck market in 2010 with its new "Ford Trucks" brand and new global products developed in the process, is now gearing up to manufacture for the whole world.
General Manager Haydar Yenigün said Ford's exit from the South American market will not adversely affect them. "On the contrary, the axis of heavy commercial vehicles is shifting to Europe, Russia and the Middle East and North Africa region. It was Ford Otosan's doing and this will give us a great advantage in this scope," he added, speaking to the Hürriyet newspaper.
Yenigün further noted that as Ford's global engineering center for heavy commercial vehicles and relevant diesel engine and engine systems, Ford Trucks produces advanced technologies to deliver products that compete in all potential export markets; not only in Turkey, but also in Europe and North America.
"We carry on our path with our outstanding success in research and development and production and our rapidly growing structure that is now spreading to 36 countries," he continued. "We have the infrastructure, competence and experience to continue our effective growth in the international markets in the coming period as the company's only heavy commercial vehicle developer and manufacturer on the global level."
The groundwork for Ford Trucks' global network was laid in 2010 following the Global Cargo agreement inked with Ford Motor Company, one of the main shareholders of Ford Otosan. In line with the Global Cargo Growth Strategy, Ford Otosan started to build its global network by assigning truck sales distributors in 60 countries on three continents, mainly in the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Turkic Republics, Central and Eastern European markets. Ford Trucks, which currently operates in 36 countries and aims to reach 51 by the end of 2020, decided to put its plan, including Western European markets, into effect earlier following the international successes achieved by F-MAX, its new award-winning tow truck manufactured in Eskişehir.
Yenigün made further evaluations about the Western European expansion of Ford Trucks, which is a very important venture for the future of Ford Otosan, highlighting that they are at the forefront of their investments which they have made since 2010.
"We continue our growth in international markets with the opening of our dealers in Central and Eastern Europe following the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Turkic Republics," he said. "At a time when the heavy commercial market is shifting to Russia and the Middle East and North Africa region, we have displayed a strong stance in these markets, enriching our experience in different markets and becoming more visible on the industry's radar as an international brand."
Yenigün said the fact that F-MAX, the brand's new tow truck that premiered at the IAA Hannover International Commercial Vehicle Show, won the International Truck of the Year Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the heavy commercial vehicle sector, has enabled their strengths and competence in research and development to be recognized globally.
"We have received nearly 70 dealership requests from Europe after the success of our tow tractor, which was fully developed by Turkish engineers and manufactured in our İnönü factory," Yenigün noted.