Turkey's Karsan to sign $84 million China deal

Karsan, Turkish motor manufacturer, will produce the company''s J10 minibus in a Chinese factory, which they will jointly invest 62 million euros ($84 million) in.

In a statement from Karsan on Monday to the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange, the firm said it will sign a deal with Chinese firm Wuhan Zhong that will see production of the J10 begin in March next year.

"The joint venture will produce 10,000 units of the J10 model in the first year and production will gradually increase to more than 20,000 units," the statement said.

Karsan will hold a 35 percent stake in the joint venture. The two sides reached a preliminary agreement in May.

Having manufactured more than 15,000 commercial vehicles for brands such as Renault, Peugeot, Citroen and Hyundai, Karsan, Turkey's third-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, saw a turnover of around 583 million Turkish lira ($290 million) in 2012.