FORD_SRDE_2018

30 The Power of R&D We are the company with the most established and largest R&D organisation in Turkish automotive sector. At Ford Otosan, we have been breaking grounds for years with the power of R&D and contributing to the sector’s development. Product Development Department, established in 1961, continues to work today with over 1,100 employees. We are the only Turkish automotive company that has the ability and infrastructure to engineer a whole vehicle, including engine, internal and external visual design as well as developing and testing it. From the Anadol model, the first passenger automobile developed in Turkey in 1966 thanks to our R&D efforts, to new Ford Trucks developed in 2003, which are equipped with Ecotorq engine, we have brought many new products in the sector and we continue to do so. In addition to Turkey, we also engineer and develop competitive products in the European and North American markets, thus making the Ford Otosan R&D Centre a globally recognised one. While the global trends affect the transformation in the automotive sector, it becomes necessary to focus on different issues along with the conventional products and services. We also have R&D works in many other fields such as fuel optimisation and reduction of carbon emissions, and connected, autonomous and electric vehicles. We cooperate as part of these works. We are project partners in projects that are funded by European Union, such as Horizon 2020 project. Among our R&D studies, there are software innovations, recycling of valuable metals used in automotive, development of programmable systems for smart vehicles, automotive applications of visible light telecommunication, and 5G technologies for interactive, connected and autonomous mobility. In addition to Turkey, we also engineer and develop competitive products in the European and North American markets, thus making the Ford Otosan R&D Centre a globally recognised one. We are the first Turkish automotive company to export technology and engineering to China, the largest truck market in the world. The trucks, which were produced by JMC using Ford Otosan license and engineering as part of the license agreement we signed with JMC in 2013, were offered to the market in 2017 and presented 2018 Truck of the Year Award in China. Our new tow truck vehicle, F-MAX, which was developed following five years of R&D researches, won the International Truck of the Year Award at the Hannover International Commercial Vehicle Fair in 2018. Developed by Ford engineers, F-MAX is the first connected heavy-duty vehicle of Ford with its ConnecTruck feature. Besides, we have the goal to put into operation the first transmission to be made in Turkey, developed by the engineers of the R&D team, in 2020 in Ford Trucks vehicles. SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE GROWTH