Mercedes-Benz plans to invest EUR113 million (USD127.82 million) to double the capacity of its truck production plant in Aksaray (Turkey) by 2018, according to a company press release. The company plans to increase the number of workers at the production facility to 3,000 from 1,800 over the next three years. Separately, Toyota Motor Europe (TME) has announced in a company press release that the C-HR hybrid concept (C-segment crossover model) will be produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Turkey (TMMT) in Sakarya by the end of 2016. The automaker plans to invest EUR350 million in the project. The annual production capacity of the factory following the addition of the new model is expected to grow to 280,000 from 150,000 units. The production model of the concept will be based on Toyota's new global architecture (TNGA) and is expected to be showcased at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show (Switzerland) on 1 March.
Significance: Turkey has become the third most important production hub for Mercedes-Benz's medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCVs), with around 24,965 units produced in 2015, according to IHS Automotive data. Mercedes-Benz Turkey was established in Istanbul in 1967 and started producing buses for the Turkish market a year later. It has manufacturing plants in Aksaray and Hosdere. The latest investment in the Aksaray plant will help the truck-maker increase its exports. Meanwhile, TMMT currently manufactures the Corolla and Verso models, and with the newest addition it will become the third plant in Europe to produce a hybrid vehicle after Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK in Burnaston, Derbyshire (producing the Auris Hybrid and Auris Touring Sport Hybrid) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (producing the Yaris Hybrid). Production of the new model will be carried out on the same line as the Corolla and Verso. According to IHS Automotive forecasts, Turkish production of Mercedes-Benz MHCVs will fall by 14.7% year on year (y/y) to 21,301 units in 2016. We also forecast that Turkish production of Toyota's light vehicles will grow by 13.6% y/y to 131,597 units in 2016.
