Ford Otosan posted a sales increase of 66 percent, while the overall Turkish automotive market experienced an 8 percent growth. On the domestic market, Ford Otosan grew to 17,085 units (40 percent increase), while exports jumped by 87 percent.
"In the months ahead we expect a continuation of the improvement in our profitability together with a rise in production and unit sales," the manufacturer says in a release quoted by just-auto.com.
Last year, production in the country for all manufacturers was reduced by 63 percent to 83,667 units in the first two months, compared to the year before, so the comparison made by Ford Otosan with those results not necessarily means Otosan is in the clear.
Yet, Celal Caglar, chairman of Oyak Cement and Automotive Companies warned in September last year things will not be easy for the Turkish automotive industry.
"The entire sector will fall 20 percent (in 2010) from 2009. I'm talking about production, though sales will be the same. This is not pessimism this is a reality," he said last year.
Also in 2009, Ford announced plans to relocate some of the production of the new Connect from Turkey to a US based facility by 2012.
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