COVID-19: VW, Turkey new factory construction canceled: Western Turkey, Manisa Province
Istanbul
July 09, 2020
VW:
On July 1, it announced that it has canceled the plan to build a new plant in Turkey.
2019
Decided to invest EUR 1.3 billion in Manisa Province in western Turkey to build a new factory, launching a corporate company on October 2 (see article on October 11, 2019)
October 9, 2019
The Turkish army has deployed a military operation (operation of the fountain of peace) in northern Syria, and postponed the final decision to build a new factory for this reason,
February 2020
It was postponed again (see article on February 28, 2020)
New factory:
By 2022
VW/Passat,
Skoda Superb
The new model was planned to be manufactured with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units.
VW Christoph Ludwig:
The situation of the automobile market has changed due to the spread of new coronavirus infection. “Barons”, where the car market is very different from before and after Corona July 1
Turkey’s passenger car sales:
VW is very popular, and according to the Car Sales Association (ODD), it is the third most sold vehicle (as of June 2020) after Renault and Fiat (both produced in Turkey).
JETRO
https://www.jetro.go.jp/biznews/2020/07/1640b67d4b2c2b9e.html
VW Abandons Turkey Factory Plan After Car Sales Slump
Volkswagen AG canceled plans to build a car factory in Turkey after the coronavirus pandemic jolted auto markets.
The slump in global car demand
makes adding more capacity “unnecessary from today’s perspective,”
Volkswagen said Wednesday in an emailed statement. The German company will instead produce new cars at existing sites, it said.
The world’s largest automaker
put the project on hold last year after political tensions in the region escalated following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.
The Covid-19 outbreak added to obstacles as sales tanked and the exact shape of a potential recovery remains unclear.
The factory in Turkey
was supposed to make around 300,000 cars a year and provide a base for Volkswagen’s expansion in the Middle East.
The project would have marked a milestone in attracting foreign investment for the country that has been plagued by economic woes even before the pandemic.