Automotiv Exports July 2022

New Fiat Doblo
production shifts
to Spain from
Turkey
The new generation of the light commercial
vehicle Fiat Doblo, which has been
produced in Turkish automaker Tofaş’s
factory in the northwestern province of
Bursa for 22 years will soon be produced at
the Vigo factory in Galicia, Spain, according
to a company statement.
Tofaş, which made the related statement to
the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), said
that the new Fiat Doblo will be produced
at Stellantis’ factory. Tofaş is a joint venture
of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding and
Fiat. Stellantis was formed in 2021 through
the merger between France’s PSA and Fiat
Chrysler.
“Studies and evaluations on new
products to be produced at the Tofaş
factory continue, including extending
the production of the current Fiat Doblo
model, which is expected to continue until
the end of 2022, for Turkey, North America,
Canada, the Middle East and Africa, in line
with the demand from export markets, and
the finalized important information will be
shared with the public,” Tofaş said in the
statement.
With this decision, light commercial models
of Fiat, Peugeot, Opel and Citroen within
the Stellantis group will be produced on the
same platform. Toyota’s light commercial
model has also been produced in
partnership with Stellantis for an extended
period.
Brands such as Ferrari, Abarth, Alfa Romeo,
Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep,
Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and
Vauxhall operate within Stellantis.
In the official statement made by Stellantis,
it was noted that the new Doblo will be
presented to the consumer with a fully
electric option. It said that the fifthgeneration
Doblo will be Fiat’s third
100% electric model and also provided
information about the vehicle’s internal
combustion engines.
Accordingly, a 1.5-liter 100-horsepower
diesel engine will be used in the
manual transmission option, while the
130-horsepower version of this engine will
be offered for sale with both manual and
8-speed automatic transmissions.
The Doblo will also feature a 1.2-liter petrol
engine that produces 100 horsepower.
In the electric version of the new Doblo,
a 100 kW electric motor and a 50 kWh
battery will be installed.
With this combination, the range of the
Doblo is expected to be 280 kilometers
(174 miles) with a top speed of 130 kph.
The company has also said that the vehicle
will offer 260 Nm of torque.
Shares in Tofaş dropped more than 7% after
the announcement that the production
was shifted to Spain.
The production of Fiat Doblo, which has
been produced in Turkey for 22 years,
started in Tofaş in September 2000,
with the decision of Fiat to carry out the
production of a model in a country other
than Italy for the first time in the world.
The Doblo, which came off the bands as
a model born from scratch in Turkey, was
produced in 100,000 units in the first year
of its manufacturing. In the same year, 90%
of the total Doblo production was exported
to 43 countries.
Doblo, which was sent to all European
countries in 2001, constituted 83% of
Tofaş’s total exports at that time.
In 2006, the production of the second
generation of Doblo started. The vehicle
won the Commercial Vehicle of the Year
award in Europe that year. The next
generation of the Doblo was also named
Commercial Vehicle of the Year in Europe
in 2011.
Some 75% of the total production of more
than 2 million units of Doblo, which has
been offered to world markets in four
generations, has been exported to more
than 80 countries around the globe so far.
Tofaş, in which Koç Holding and FCA Italy
SPA are equal shareholders, manufactures
the Fiat Egea family’s sedan, hatchback,
station wagon and cross models, as well as
Fiorino models, in addition to the Doblo.
The annual production capacity of the
company’s factory is 450,000 per year,
according to the statement.
While total production of Tofaş decreased
in 2021, Doblo production increased.
Producing a total of 250,630 vehicles
in 2020 at the factory in Bursa, Tofaş
produced 68,798 Doblos in the same year.
Tofaş, whose total production decreased
to 228,810 in 2021, increased its Doblo
production to 77,520 units last year.
The figures reveal that about 35% of the
company’s total production consists of
Doblos.
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