Ford Otosan to Increase Production
Ford Otosan, a joint venture between Ford Motor and Turkey’s Koç Holding, posted a net profit of 143 million Turkish Liras in the first quarter of the year. The figure represents a 101 percent annual increase.
The company also said it would start a third shift in its giant production facility in the northwestern province of Kocaeli in June, creating 1,000 new jobs.
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Nuri Otay, the general manager of Ford Otosan, said the company had been the market leader for the last nine years, with a share of 14.6 percent.
Ford Otosan reached 79,770 units in sales in the first quarter, a 45 percent annual rise. Export revenue of the company also increased by 46 percent in the same period, from 886 million liras to 1.3 billion liras.
Ford Otosan’s shares in the passenger car market, light commercial vehicle market and truck market stand at 9.8 percent, 18.5 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively.
Production in the Kocaeli facility increased to 66,877 units in the first quarter, representing a 38 percent annual rise. “We will start a third shift in our Kocaeli facility at the end of June. By the end of the year, we plan to hire 1,000 more workers. We have already begun recruiting,” Anatolia news agency quoted Otay as saying.
“This is good news both for our company and the Turkish automotive industry. This facility had been working with three shifts until 2008 [when the global crisis hit]. With a 13 percent increase, the total number of workers will reach 9,490 by the end of the year,” Otay said.
Focus on research
The number of research and development engineers, which was 810 in 2010, will increase to 1,000 this year, the general manager said, adding that one of the three largest development centers of Ford will be the one in Turkey.
Exporting to more than 70 countries on five continents, Ford Otosan also exports spare parts to more than 75 countries. While the company increased its market share in the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy, it added Argentina and Chile to its Ford Transit exports, Otay said.
Ford Otosan has been the number one car company in dividends. “Between 2004 and 2011, we distributed a total of $2.1 billion in dividends to our shareholders,” he said.
Ford Motor in the U.S. this week posted its best first-quarter profit in 13 years. On Tuesday, the giant company said net income rose 22 percent to $2.6 billion, its best first-quarter performance since 1998. It was the company’s eighth straight quarterly profit in its long climb back from near-bankruptcy five years ago.
Ford’s revenue rose 18 percent to $33.1 billion, the Associated Press reported. The company saw especially strong growth in Asia, where revenue jumped 31 percent to $2.1 billion. In India, sales more than doubled thanks to the popularity of the $8,000 Figo subcompact.
April 29, 2011
Daily News
