Investments maintain Ford Otosan's continuation as a sectoral trailblazer

Among the activities undertaken in recent months in line with its vision as a leader in automative industry sustainability and technological transformation, Ford Otosan re-opened its Yeniköy factory with a new design featuring innovative and productive solutions. Ford Otosan also held the Future of Mobility event together with Driventure, a corporate venture capital firm it established to support initiatives that will shape the future.

In line with its vision as a leader in industry sustainability and technological transformation, Ford Otosan is continuing with comprehensive investments that will shape the future. Ford Otosan’s Yeniköy Plant recently re-opened after being redesigned to include innovative, productive digital solutions. The factory now features such cutting-edge technology as a Photovoltaic Glass Wall and a Sun-Tracking Solar Panel System.

The Yeniköy Plant: The Transit’s only European base of production
Ford Otosan’s Yeniköy Plant is the only European base of production for the Transit, the best-selling line of commercial vehicles in Turkey and throughout Europe, and the only facility in the world producing the Transit Custom. Both The next-generation Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom, manufactured at Yeniköy both feature performance-enhancing innovative characteristics and smart technology. Also coming off the Yeniköy production line this year will be the fully electric E-Transit Custom, a new edition to the next-generation Custom series. Moreover, as part of the strategic partnership between Ford Otosan and Volkswagen, the plant will also be manufacturing Volkswagen's next-generation one-ton commercial vehicle. With the production of the next generation of one-ton vehicles, the Yeniköy facility will expand its capacity to 405,000 units in 2025.

A first in Turkey for performance-enhancing solutions
The Ford Otosan plant conserves electricity by using renewable energy produced by solar roof panels and the photovoltaic glass wall of its side façade for building illumination. Another innovation, the Sun-Tracking Solar Panel System, ensures that the production floor benefits from maximum sunlight throughout the day. Solar Walls also help with heating the production area, which reduces the plant’s consumption of natural gas.

Latest technologies represent the future of manufacturing
In 2019, ‘smart manufacturing’ applications employed at Ford Otosan’s Kocaeli facilities earned the company the right to join the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Lighthouse Network, making it the first automotive manufacturer in Turkey and only the fourth in the world to join.

The Yeniköy plant features a markedly high level of automation that includes enhanced robotics, machine vision and artificial intelligence applications. Digital twinning is used for model-based simulation of operations, and data is collected from industrial equipment through sensors connected through an “Internet of Things”.
Multi-story welding and assembly workshops that were redesigned from scratch by Ford Otosan engineers have increased the output of production lines. This innovative architecture has increased co-operation among production teams while reducing the divisions among work stations. Moreover, in another ‘first’, Ford Otosan has replaced the pneumatic presses used on assembly lines with cordless rechargeable drills, transforming it into a “noiseless factory”.

Ford Otosan continues its investments with Driventure, an initiative destined to transform the world of mobility
Well-established automative firms, suppliers, mobility-focused startups, entrepreneurs, investment-fund representatives and investment firms attended the Future of Mobility, an event jointly organized by Ford Otosan and Drivetime, the corporate venture capital firm it established to support initiatives that will shape the future. The event offered representatives of local as well as global players like the World Economic Forum (WEF) the opportunity to follow the latest sectoral developments, develop a vision of mobility for the future, make new connections and evaluate opportunities for collaboration.

Güven Özyurt: “Ford Otosan is both setting up the game and making room for the players”
As part of the event, panels were organized on a variety of topics, from ‘smart cities’ to technologies that will play a role in the future of mobility. In his presentation for the panel entitled ‘The Development of a Mobility Ecosystem in Turkey,’ Ford Otosan General Manager Güven Özyurt stated the following: “The automotive sector is becoming increasingly attractive, as concepts like smart mobility and connectivity become a part of our lives. With the entrance of technology companies into the sector, R&D activities have become central to automative world technology. We’ve reached the point where the automotive sector is now on the radar of new ventures of all sizes. At Ford Otosan, we understand that in order for companies to succeed in this new mobility and smart manufacturing space, they will need to adopt new business models and practices and make changes at an unprecedented pace. Within this ecosystem, Ford Otosan is both setting up the game and making room for the players. Of course, in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, our primary interest is in bringing innovative projects and talents into the economy. From this perspective, we are aiming to create added value by supporting innovative technological solutions.”