Production of the new Volkswagen Transporter will begin at Ford's Turkish plant by the end of the year. Developed alongside the Ford Transit Custom, the Transporter will be manufactured at Ford's plant in Kocaeli, Turkey. Moving production from Hanover, Germany to Turkey will give Volkswagen an edge in the van market.
Hans Schepp, Head of Ford Pro Commercial Vehicles in Europe, highlights the scale and competitiveness achieved through the partnership. The Transporter will compete with rivals, including electric variants, from Stellantis, Renault and Mercedes-Benz.
The Transit Custom and Transporter will use the same production line. Both models will offer a variety of powertrains, including all-electric, plug-in hybrid and diesel variants.
Volkswagen plans to unveil all-electric and plug-in hybrid versions of the Transporter at the Hanover light truck show. This marks the end of Ford and Volkswagen's agreement to produce a total of 8 million commercial vehicles, including the Amarok and Ranger pickups.