Ford to Complete Move From UK to Turkey

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Ford Motors, one of the world’s largest car manufacturers is closing up its operations in Britain and moving completely over to Turkey. After recently closing its 40 year old plan in Southampton the firm is now set to do the same in Dagenham beforing moving the operation across to its Kocaeli plant in Turkey, where, according to Ford, the costs are “significantly lower” than anywhere in Europe, even after delivery charges.

This is of course good news for Turkey which continues to become a dominant force in the European automobile industry, if unfortunate that it had to come at the cost of a further 750 jobs in the UK.

That said, Ford’s Turkish plant at Kocaeli is much bigger than those of the UK. Last year Kocaeli produced 185,000 vans compared to the 28,000 produced in Southampton. The company is expected to close down another production facility in Genk, Belgium, next year.

Meanwhile, according to Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) data released on Thursday, the number of vehicles registered in Turkey rose by 37.3 percent in May compared to the previous month. Furthermore, the figure increased by 32.6 percent year on year.

According to the data 55.8% of the 136,492 vehicles registered in Turkey are cars, followed by Motorcycles making up 19.6% of the total. Pick-up vans account for 14.2% of vehicles. The number of cars represents ferocious growth of 37.7% compared to the previous month, while minivan registration grew 22.3% and buses and pick-up vans by 26.8%. But motorcycles stole the show with a 48.1% growth in registrations.

About Natalie

Natalie is a dedicated real estate professional currently working at Spot Blue International Property. With over a decade of experience in the industry, she has acquired a wealth of knowledge and expertise regarding global properties.