Chrysler Kamyon Imalat Ve Ticaret A.S.

In 1962, Chrysler worked on a joint venture with Turkish investors, putting up 60% of the funds for the new Chrysler Sanaya A.S. The first trucks were made in 1964, but the venture had an impact long after the American group pulled out.

The joint venture was successful, selling many trucks from American and English (Commer, Karrier) designs; production was not enormous, given the size of the market, but it appears to have been profitable. As they did in the rest of Europe, Chrysler leaned on Perkins diesel engines. The facility, around 40 kilometers from Istanbul, was a 109-acre site, including 40,000 square meters of floor space, with stamping lines and a body shop; production capacity in 2003 was an impressive 9,000 trucks per shift.

Subject ID: 16101

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In 1962, Chrysler worked on a joint venture with Turkish investors, putting up 60% of the funds for the new Chrysler Sanaya A.S. The first trucks were made in 1964, but the venture had an impact long after the American group pulled out.

The joint venture was successful, selling many trucks from American and English (Commer, Karrier) designs; production was not enormous, given the size of the market, but it appears to have been profitable. As they did in the rest of Europe, Chrysler leaned on Perkins diesel engines. The facility, around 40 kilometers from Istanbul, was a 109-acre site, including 40,000 square meters of floor space, with stamping lines and a body shop; production capacity in 2003 was an impressive 9,000 trucks per shift.

Then Chrysler Corporation reached a crisis, and sold essentially their entire presence in Europe to buy a few more months of life, while great changes were made at home. That included Chrysler Sanaya, sold in 1978 to Tatko, Ciftciler, and Rusensad (Turkish investors). The agreement included continued technical support and a patent license.

Renamed Chrysler Kamyon Imalat ve Ticaret A.S., the firm kept building Dodge, Fargo and DeSoto trucks in Turkey. Development would have to be brought in-house, since Chrysler no longer worked in commercial trucks, beyond American-designed Dodge pickups and chassis cabs. The resources of Commer, Karrier, and such were no longer available; but Perkins continued to improve its diesels.

Subject ID: 16101

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