History of Tofaş, which acquired Stellantis Turkey, from 1968 to the present
Founded in 1968 under the leadership of Vehbi Koç, the founder of the Koç Group, Tofaş Türk Automobile Factory A.Ş. It was established in partnership with Koç Holding and Italian Fiat. The partnership structure of the organization, which started the construction of the factory in Bursa in 1969, consists of 37.8 percent Koç Holding, 37.8 percent Fiat and 24.3 percent other shareholders.
The first production in the factory, which was commissioned in 1971 with an annual installed capacity of 20 thousand, started with the Murat 124 project. The company, which made its first export to Egypt with the Murat 124 model in 1974, continued its production with the Murat 131 models in 1976, Şahin in 1977, Kartal and Doğan in 1981 and Tempra in 1990.
The automotive giant, which started domestic engine production in 1991, established Tofaş R&D unit in 1994.
Fiat Uno was introduced to the market. Thus, for the first time, a B segment vehicle was introduced to the market in Turkey.
In 1998, the company was involved in the “global” automobile project by working on the Fiat Palio model, thus starting the worldwide supply chain management.
Tofaş started Fiat Doblo production in 2000 and created its own segment in the Turkish automotive market. Doblo, where Tofaş employees were directly involved in the production preparation phase for the first time, was among the most important models of the automotive giant for many years.
Fiat Auto roof in 2001 under Undertaking the Turkish representative of the Alfa Romeo brand, Tofaş became a part of Fer Mas Oto Ticaret A.Ş. It became the official Turkish representative of the Ferrari and Maserati brands, with the company established in partnership with the Tofaş Turkish Automobile Factory.
In 2003, the company’s 2 millionth vehicle, the Fiat Palio Go, was taken off the tape. In the same year, all shares of Koç Fiat Kredi Finansman A.Ş., which was established in 2000 as a joint venture of Koç and Fiat communities, were purchased by Tofaş Türk Automobile Factory.
While Tofaş increased its factory production capacity to 400 thousand units in 2008, the 3 millionth vehicle was rolled off the line in 2009.
After the merger of Fiat and Chrysler, the Turkish representation of the Jeep brand was transferred to Tofaş in 2012. While the 4 millionth vehicle was produced in the same year, the Opel Combo was also put on sale.
In 2014, the automotive giant started exporting the Fiat Doblo model to Canada and North America under the Ram brand and under the name Promaster City. The following year, the Fiat Egea Sedan model was presented to the Turkish and world markets.
According to the 2016 “Turkey’s Top 500 Industrial Enterprises” research of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO), Tofaş became the third largest industrial enterprise in Turkey in terms of sales 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.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018, the company offered Fiat Connect for sale. In 2019, Tofaş’s six millionth vehicle came off the belt.
Producing the 1 millionth Egea model in 2022, Tofaş launched the Egea Hybrid model in the same year. In the same year, Koç Fiat Insurance was established.
The automotive giant, which produces both passenger cars 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 its PDP statement on March 1, 2023 that it agreed to acquire Stellantis Turkey. If the agreement is concluded, Tofaş will become Turkey’s largest automotive company.
