About

Owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Koç Holding, Tofaş Türk manufactures both passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. The company has had to fundamentally change the way it conducts its business in a very short time due to an intensive period of major changes in Turkish legislation on commercial code, consumer protection, personal data protection and e-commerce. The legal team of eight has been at the heart of the company’s adjustment and compliance with the new legal environment. The team itself has undergone changes in recent times as well, meaning that corporate and in-house functions are distributed accordingly to meet the needs and workload of Tofaş, focusing efforts on commercial, industrial, dealer management and compliance. With a direct reporting line to the CEO and close business relationship with the CFO and financial team, the legal department is well placed to facilitate the company’s growth and resolve critical issues with senior and mid-level management. The team was heavily involved in Tofaş’ latest vehicle-manufacturing programme with Fiat, working on investments, financing, documentation, and contracts among other legal aspects. The investment, worth over €1bn, was greeted with great success both in the local market and in Tofaş export markets. Head of legal, Hakan Bekiroğlu said of the deal, ‘despite the fact that this period was quite challenging, we consider it also as a great opportunity as projects of such big scale do not come very often. We are quite pleased to have demonstrated the legal function’s value added contribution to such a big and important project for Tofaş’.