GOLCUK (Turkey) – Ford Otosan is a Turkish joint venture. Ford Motor Co (N.:) announced Thursday that production has been started on its all-electric Ford Transit Model under a 2 billion Euro ($2.2 billion), investment to expand capacity.

This made it the first company in Turkey to manufacture an all-electric car in large quantities. The E-Transit model will be sold in Europe, and the vehicle is manufactured at its plant in Kocaeli in northwest Turkey.

Ford Otosan is jointly owned and controlled by Koc Holding, the largest Turkish conglomerate, the U.S. automobilemaker. The 2 billion Euro investment, announced in 2020, will see the factory increase its annual vehicle production to 650,000.

The factory will have an assembly line that can produce at least 130,000 cells.

Ford officials claimed that more than 5,000 customers have ordered the fully-electric vehicle. It is currently being sold in Europe. The domestic sales of the vehicle will begin in this same year.

($1 = 0.9161 euros)