Aiata launches Wayfinder 50 as Anadolu-backed brand targets global market

Aiata has used Cannes Yachting Festival to unveil its new Wayfinder 50, an enclosed model that expands the Türkiye-based boatbuilder’s 50ft platform and forms part of its plan to establish a global brand.

The premiere comes less than two years after the company made its international debut with the Wayfinder 38. Aiata is part of the Anadolu Group whose wider portfolio spans automotive, beverages, retail, agriculture, energy, stationery and healthcare, giving Aiata access to a manufacturing and distribution infrastructure well beyond that of a conventional start-up boatbuilder.

According to Hakan Kefoğlu, general manager of Anadolu Motor which is developing the boat brand, the group has operations in 20 countries, exports to more than 100 countries and employs more than 100,000 people, with six R&D centres. This means Aiata is able to draw on manufacturing expertise developed outside the marine sector.

“We have enough marine business know-how in our company – quality that comes from automotive know-how; craftsmanship is inherited from different industries.”

From Wayfinder 38 to a five-model range

Aiata’s 2024 production portfolio included the Wayfinder 38, Sunfinder 38 and Sunfinder 50, with the Wayfinder 50 now joining the line-up. A 32ft model is also planned for 2027.

The Wayfinder 50 shares its hull design and core platform with the Sunfinder 50, but uses an enclosed configuration. The model has two principal interior configurations: two cabins and one bathroom with a galley, or two cabins and two bathrooms instead of the galley. A captain/crew cabin option is also available.

This gives the model four layout possibilities.

It is designed by Finnish designer Jarkko Jämsén, with Aiata crediting the design team with helping establish the characteristics of the brand.

An ‘SUV of the seas’

Aiata is positioning its boats around what it calls an SUV approach, combining space, comfort, performance and practicality rather than requiring owners to compromise between them.

“We believe as a design philosophy, [that] Aiata owners should not have to choose [between] comfort, volume, performance, safety and practicality. All of those can be combined,” says Kefoğlu.

The distinctive bow is described as functional and part of Aiata’s SUV concept; the design (likened by some to the bow of an aircraft carrier) helps limit water reaching the windows and bow areas.

Industrial backing behind the marine business

The decision to enter boatbuilding was not simply a move into another leisure category for Anadolu Group.

“As an owner group, we have a passion to produce, and we have a passion to go new, into new industries, to new categories actually,” says Kefoğlu, adding that the scale of the group means there is an opportunity to transfer expertise between industries.

“We believe out of these 100,000 employees, there are people who can help each other, who can teach each other, and every industry has another methodology to bring to the new, the new industries.”

The group also has an established connection with the marine market through Honda Marine distribution in Turkey.

“We know the customer, what the customer expectation is.”

Profitability remains ahead

Despite the speed of the product rollout, Kefoğlu notes Aiata has not yet reached profitability.

The company is focused on completing its initial portfolio before moving into the next stage of expansion.

The aim is to establish Aiata as a new player in the market, and its customer base has already confirmed sales of the 50ft model in the US, Mediterranean markets and Türkiye.

“We want to be international and everywhere. We want to create a global brand. So, we have no limitation,” he says. It already has a distributor in Thailand, and the company has continued to build its international dealer network into the US and additional European markets during 2026.

The speed of that expansion is significant given the brand’s relatively short history. Aiata made its global debut at boot Düsseldorf in 2025 with the Wayfinder 38, backed by an initial €15m investment from Anadolu Group.

Sustainability through production as well as product

Kefoğlu believes that, with a legacy of manufacturing, environmental considerations are being addressed in both the boats themselves and the manufacturing process.

“We have sustainability issues coming from the automotive business as well, regarding components, regarding engines, regarding everything, actually.

“We are very focused not only on the product side, but also on the production side.”

For Aiata, the Wayfinder 50 therefore represents more than another model launch. It is a further step in a rapid product programme designed to establish a new marine business within one of Türkiye’s largest industrial groups, while using that group’s manufacturing experience, existing marine relationships and international infrastructure to build a global boat brand.

The Wayfinder 38 starts at €320,000 plus options, while the Sunfinder 50 starts at €850,000 plus options. The Wayfinder 50 cabin version starts at €1.1m plus options, with VAT dependent on the country.