Turkish automotive manufacturer Ford Otosan and logistics company Mars Logistics are launching an intermodal supply route between Istanbul and Craiova, Romania. Ford has a car factory in the Romanian city. Production parts will now be making their way there from Istanbul, in large part via rail.
Ford Otosan is not only transporting production parts on the new route. It is also sending finished cars back to Türkiye. In total, the route allows for approximately 12,000 cars to be sent to Istanbul on a yearly basis.
“With the new logistics model we established between Romania and Türkiye, we transport the necessary production parts to our Craiova Plant, which produces Ford Puma and Ford Courier models, some of which we now transport to Türkiye through this newly implemented logistics model”, Güven Özyurt, director at Ford Otosan, explains.
Competitiveness
“By leveraging the cost advantages of rail transport over road and sea, we are enhancing our competitiveness while also making a strong contribution to our sustainability goals with an environmentally friendly logistics approach. […] We procure parts from nearly 10 Turkish suppliers in Romania and collaborate with more than 60 suppliers in Türkiye for the vehicles produced at this facility.”
There will be four weekly round-trips from Istanbul Halkalı to Craiova, reducing emissions by 63 per cent compared to road transport, says Mars Logistics.