Global crisis hits heavy vehicle sales
Posted by meb at September 12th, 2008
Hurt by the global crisis, the Turkish heavy vehicle industry, which constitutes the backbone of land transportation sales, has declined 7.2 percent during the first seven months of the year.
Production and sales of tow trucks over 16 tons, trailers and four-axle trucks have been hit hard by the global crisis, which started in the United States and then spread to Europe, said Çetin Nuhoğlu, head of Tirsan, one of Europe’s leading firms in truck, trailer, refrigerated semi-trailer and chassis production.
Particularly due to an increase in diesel prices in recent years, Europe’s heavy vehicle market shrunk 25 percent, Nuhoğlu said. “Sales in Turkey declined approximately 30 percent over the period. During the first seven months of this year, sales dropped 7.2 percent compared to the corresponding period of last year. We are on a very bad track. I am very anxious about the future.”
Tirsan is busy forming strategies for the upcoming three years, considering how to cope with “the worst case scenarios,” he said.
Need of a miracle
Turkey had not implemented a “transportation master plan” to date, said Nuhoğlu. “We have organized nine transportation councils to date. We will have the 10th soon. So far we have prepared four transportation plans.” As none of the plans could be implemented despite organizing nine councils, the only thing is to keep hoping, he said. “However, it will not happen, as our economy is getting worse.”
Domestic producers do not receive necessary support, said Nuhoğlu. “We would be much stronger if domestic investors received 10 percent of the support provided for foreign investors. The dollar price and energy prices have distressed us. We have to create a miracle.”
The current stagnation in the global economy will affect Turkey negatively sooner or later, he said. “The development models we have learned to date, such as Keynes’ and Adam Smith’s, have turned upside down. We do not know anything now.”
Export target
The Tirsan Group, which exports 50 percent of its aggregate production to 32 countries, aims to reach a production capacity of 10,000 units, and rank among Europe’s largest five trailer manufacturers by 2011, Nuhoğlu said.
“We have prepared a strategic plan for the upcoming three years. We will take the necessary measures to prepare for external factors. We aim to become a company worth approximately half a billion euros in 2011 and see exports worth 250 million euros.”
source: Turkish Daily News
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