Mujdat Tiryaki, Ford Otosan Craiova: “Getting prepared for the next years is the biggest challenge for us now”

“When we acquired the Craiova plant in July 2022, we announced an investment plan of 490 million Euro and we committed to launch new commercial vehicles: Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier. We are going to increase the capacity of the plant as well.

We recently started the production of the new vehicles in Craiova, and we expect a huge success. Our current challenges, to name a few, are the unpredictability of the regulations, the complexity of systems, energy costs, supply chains breakdowns,” Mujdat Tiryaki, President Ford Otosan Craiova said during Automotive 2023 Forum organized by Automotive Today and The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“Flexibility is very important these days, and we have managed these challenges very successful in Craiova so far. We need to get ready for 2024, but also need to be prepared for the next five years. The speed of transformation in the automotive industry is hard to predict. Getting prepared for the next years is the biggest challenge for us now.

There are exciting times for us, we are launching new vehicles in Craiova. We will launch an electric version for the Puma SUV. We have positioned ourselves correctly from a strategic perspective. We feel very luck as well. We are producing Puma, which is one of the best-selling passenger cars in Europe, but also commercial vehicles which are getting a lot of attention as well.

Even though 2022 was a transition year for us, we managed to achieve a record production in Craiova. For this year we expect a new record of car production. Our engine plant is also set for a production record in 2023.

Our business is growing, we are bringing new investments and upskilling and reskilling are areas we are also working on. The main challenge in 2024 will be to go all-electric and try to satisfy the demand and produce more vehicles.

Talking about 2024, we need to pay attention to inflation, to higher interest rates. The authorities and the industry need to have a close relationship, to work together. The economic situation is not bright, and in 2024 we will continue to address the challenges we are facing.”

Full recording of the conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P1kYtDifKc