The history of Tofaş, which acquired Stellantis Turkey, from 1968 to the present

Turkish automotive giant Tofaş announced that it has signed a Framework Agreement to acquire all rights of Stellantis Turkey. We have compiled the development of the company, one of Turkey's most important automotive manufacturers, since 1968. Tofaş Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş., the foundations of which were laid in 1968 under the leadership of Vehbi Koç, the founder of Koç Group, was established as a partnership between Koç Holding and Italian Fiat. The partnership structure of the organization, which began construction of the factory in Bursa in 1969, consists of 37.8 percent Koç Holding, 37.8 percent Fiat, and 24.3 percent shares belonging to other partners. The factory, which was commissioned in 1971 with an installed capacity of 20,000 per year, started initial production with the Murat 124 project. The company, which made its first export to Egypt with the Murat 124 model in 1974, continued production with the Murat 131 in 1976, the Şahin in 1977, the Kartal and Doğan in 1981, and the Tempra in 1990. The automotive giant, which started domestic engine production in 1991, launched the Fiat Uno to the market while Tofaş established its R&D unit in 1994. Thus, a B segment vehicle was launched to the market in Turkey for the first time. The company joined the “global” automobile project by working on the Fiat Palio model in 1998, thus starting global supply chain management. Tofaş started manufacturing the Fiat Doblo in 2000 and created its own segment in the Turkish automotive market. The Doblo, in which Tofaş employees were directly involved in the production preparation phase for the first time, remained among the most important models of the automotive giant for many years. Tofaş, which assumed the Turkish representation of the Alfa Romeo brand under the Fiat Auto umbrella in 2001, became the official Turkish representative of the Ferrari and Maserati brands in 2005 with the company established under the name of Fer Mas Oto Ticaret A.Ş. with a 100% partnership with the Tofaş Turkish Automobile Factory. In 2003, the company’s 2 millionth vehicle, the Fiat Palio Go, rolled off the assembly line. In the same year, all shares of Koç Fiat Kredi Finansman A.Ş., which was established in 2000 as a joint venture between Koç and Fiat groups, were purchased by Tofaş Türk Otomobil Fabrikası. Tofaş increased its factory production capacity to 400 thousand units in 2008, while the 3 millionth vehicle came off the assembly line in 2009. After the merger of Fiat and Chrysler, the Turkish representation of the Jeep brand was transferred to Tofaş in 2012. The same year, the 4 millionth vehicle was produced and the Opel Combo was also offered for sale. In 2014, the automotive giant began exporting the Fiat Doblo model to Canada and North America under the Ram brand and the Promaster City name. The following year, the Fiat Egea Sedan model was offered to the Turkish and world markets. According to the 2016 “Turkey’s 500 Largest Industrial Enterprises” research of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO), Tofaş became the third largest industrial enterprise in Turkey in terms of sales volume from production. In 2017, the annual production capacity of the company's factory was increased again. Thus, the annual production capacity increased from 400 thousand to 450 thousand. The company, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018, offered Fiat Connect for sale. In 2019, Tofaş's six millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line. Tofaş, which produced its 1 millionth Egea model in 2022, launched the Egea Hybrid model on the market the same year. Koç Fiat Sigorta was established the same year. The automotive giant, which produces both passenger and light commercial vehicles, has become one of the largest manufacturers in the Turkish automotive industry with an annual production capacity of 450 thousand vehicles and more than 7 thousand employees. Tofaş announced in a statement on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) on March 1, 2023 that it had reached an agreement to acquire Stellantis Turkey. If the agreement is finalized, Tofaş will become the largest automotive company in Turkey.