Sunday, January 30, 2011
KOCAELİ - Hürriyet Daily News
 Ford Otosan opened a Cultural Center in Gölcük, Kocaeli. |
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s call on representatives of the automotive industry to manufacture a Turkish automobile brand has triggered a series of heated debates between politicians, employers and chambers of commerce.
Rahmi Koç, honorary president of Koç Holding, recently said at a meeting in the northwestern province of Kocaeli that a manufacturers’ association had checked the feasibility of the proposal, while the head of an industry chamber said the goal of a national brand was “hard to achieve.”
Talking at the opening ceremony of Ford Otosan Cultural Center in Gölcük on Friday, Koç said that “national automobile manufacturing is the business of the Automotive Manufacturers’ Association.”
“The association is checking the issue and they will inform us of the results,” he said.
“Automotive giants in the world started to merge in recent years and it would so hard to produce a national car on our own,” Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, head of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry and Trade, said at the meeting. “You can not manufacture an automobile brand just for the use of the 70 million people living in Turkey.”
Volvo and Jaguar were sold last year, Zeytinoğlu said. “Turkish investors could have bought these brands – why didn’t they?”
Zeytinoğlu said Turkey had achieved the level of know-how in operating such brands, but a lack of capital remained a major obstacle. “Turkey still could have searched for capital to buy these brands,” he said. “Unfortunately, Turkey has inadequate sources to produce its own automotive brand.”
The Turkish automotive supply industry is on the rise, Zeytinoğlu said, adding that many Turkish firms had been buying other “supply firms in the heart of Europe, such as Germany.” He said this showed the growing potential of the Turkish automotive industry. “In the long run Turkey might achieve to have its own automobile brand if the local production range expands,” he said.
There are many automotive firms interested in making new investments in Kocaeli, which is the hub of the automotive manufacturing in Turkey, Zeytinoğlu said. “These firms are interested in investments ranging from between $250 million and $2 billion.” Most automotive firms making new investments in Turkey are mainly headquartered in the United States, Zeytinoğlu said, without giving the names of the firms.
Turkish Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review last week that “the main actors of the Turkish automotive industry should take the first step.”
“If the actors take the initiative, the government will support the industry with additional incentives and support,” Çağlayan said at a business meeting with the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, or TUSKON.
The discussion of manufacturing a purely Turkish automobile began after a call from Erdoğan at a recent general meeting of the Turkish Industry and Business Association, or TÜSİAD. “All the bosses of the Turkish automotive sector are there at the moment, let us manufacture our own automobile,” Erdoğan said.
Billion dollar investment in Kocaeli
“Nearly $1 billion will be invested in Kocaeli in this year,” Industry Minister Nihat Ergün said at the opening ceremony of the Ford Otosan Cultural Center in Gölcük, adding that $250 million of the sum was centered on Ford Otosan, operator of the main manufacturing facility in the area and employing 6,000 people.
Rahmi Koç, honorary president of Koç Holding, recently said at a meeting in the northwestern province of Kocaeli that a manufacturers’ association had checked the feasibility of the proposal, while the head of an industry chamber said the goal of a national brand was “hard to achieve.”
Talking at the opening ceremony of Ford Otosan Cultural Center in Gölcük on Friday, Koç said that “national automobile manufacturing is the business of the Automotive Manufacturers’ Association.”
“The association is checking the issue and they will inform us of the results,” he said.
“Automotive giants in the world started to merge in recent years and it would so hard to produce a national car on our own,” Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, head of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry and Trade, said at the meeting. “You can not manufacture an automobile brand just for the use of the 70 million people living in Turkey.”
Volvo and Jaguar were sold last year, Zeytinoğlu said. “Turkish investors could have bought these brands – why didn’t they?”
Zeytinoğlu said Turkey had achieved the level of know-how in operating such brands, but a lack of capital remained a major obstacle. “Turkey still could have searched for capital to buy these brands,” he said. “Unfortunately, Turkey has inadequate sources to produce its own automotive brand.”
The Turkish automotive supply industry is on the rise, Zeytinoğlu said, adding that many Turkish firms had been buying other “supply firms in the heart of Europe, such as Germany.” He said this showed the growing potential of the Turkish automotive industry. “In the long run Turkey might achieve to have its own automobile brand if the local production range expands,” he said.
There are many automotive firms interested in making new investments in Kocaeli, which is the hub of the automotive manufacturing in Turkey, Zeytinoğlu said. “These firms are interested in investments ranging from between $250 million and $2 billion.” Most automotive firms making new investments in Turkey are mainly headquartered in the United States, Zeytinoğlu said, without giving the names of the firms.
Turkish Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review last week that “the main actors of the Turkish automotive industry should take the first step.”
“If the actors take the initiative, the government will support the industry with additional incentives and support,” Çağlayan said at a business meeting with the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, or TUSKON.
The discussion of manufacturing a purely Turkish automobile began after a call from Erdoğan at a recent general meeting of the Turkish Industry and Business Association, or TÜSİAD. “All the bosses of the Turkish automotive sector are there at the moment, let us manufacture our own automobile,” Erdoğan said.
Billion dollar investment in Kocaeli
“Nearly $1 billion will be invested in Kocaeli in this year,” Industry Minister Nihat Ergün said at the opening ceremony of the Ford Otosan Cultural Center in Gölcük, adding that $250 million of the sum was centered on Ford Otosan, operator of the main manufacturing facility in the area and employing 6,000 people.
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