Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş Truck Marketing And Sales Director Alper Kurt: 'This Year, We Continue Our Position As Market Leader'

"NEW ACTROS, ONE OF THE PARTS OF THE TOTAL VALUE CHAIN ??WE OFFER TO THE CUSTOMER"

In this context, we met with authorized names of Mercedes-Benz Turk who are Truck Marketing and Sales Director Alper Kurt, Truck Sales Operations Group Manager Murat Kızıltan, Truck Public Sales and Export Group Manager Bülent Tarhan, Truck Fleet Sales Group Manager Yusuf Adıgüzel and Product Management Truck Group Manager Çağdaş Özen. In addition to the evaluations regarding the year 2020, we made a detailed interview about the market situation of the brand, the New Actros and the campaigns. You can read the details of the evaluations regarding Mercedes-Benz Turk in our news.

Stating that they started the year with great hopes and evaluating the year 2020, Mercedes-Benz Turk Truck Marketing and Sales Director Alper Kurt said that; "You have to start with the average truck market sales for a year which can be defined "normal" in the last 10 years in Turkey in order to better describe the situation we're in. Following the Euro 5-Euro 6 transition from 2015 to 2016, the contraction in the market has been continuing for the last 4 years. In other words, from 2015 to 2016, there was a market of 40 thousand to 20 thousand, and then a decrease to 14 thousand in 2018 and a market that decreased to 8 thousand 800-9 thousand in 2019. Compared to a normal market of 30,000, the 8,800-unit market in 2019 was the lowest recorded in truck market after 2001 in the last 20 years. The expectation was that: the deferred demand will begin to realize at some point and most likely within 2020. Therefore, our determination turned out to be correct."

"The Impact of the Pandemic Shrunk the European Market by 40 Percent as of the End of July"

Continuing his words by evaluating the impact of the pandemic period on the market, Kurt said that; "Truck sales started the year very strongly for all brands. While the market figures were around 100% - 120% in the first two months of the previous year, it was broken by closing the doors of production and the import for a month in Turkey at the end of March and in April with the pandemic. In the ongoing pandemic process, April was the only month narrowed when compared to the previous year in Turkey. Sales were well above May, June, July and even August, and 3 times more than last year. There is a special case in July of last year: the VAT incentive on commercial vehicles has ended and again increased from 1 percent to 18 percent. For this reason, while going in thousands in the market, it dropped to 320 in July. This leap has the consequence of the great base effect. But the crucial issue is this: the postponed demandand the pandemic reality. "Have we come to the end of the loan, which has been abundant and affordable in the market for a long time? How will this progress in the fourth quarter?" Of course, there is a version of this compared to Europe. As of the end of July, Turkey truck market is around 68 percent over the previous year's, you may say 70 percent. As Mercedes-Benz Turk, we accept over 6 tons of the truck market and measure it within the whole truck market. Let me consider ourselves to be included in Europe: we are the only country with a rising truck market among all European countries with a rank of 70 percent. When we look at the average of 30 EU member countries across Europe, the impact of the pandemic was a 40 percent contraction in the European market as of the end of July. Of course, we are talking about an extraordinary situation for Europe as the monotypes are very low and the market changes with very small margins over the years."

"Delayed Demand and Affordable Financing Enabled Us to Live the Impact of the Pandemic for a Short Time"

Kurt also makes the following statements in his speech: "When the year started, the market increase in our country was likely to be much higher than we are today. When we say that we are roughly 70 percent above the last year; we can say that if the pandemic effect did not exist, it might have been over 100 percent. In Europe, for example, the construction sector is very stable when compared to our country. Now we are talking about a continent or a community of countries that have completed the infrastructure development, but there are still huge infrastructure tenders in our country. There is a dynamism especially brought about by this and our country continues its large domestic distribution network dynamism. The market was heavily affected at the beginning of the international pandemic because this supply chain was the reason for the stoppage of companies providing products, goods and services, especially in our country. But here, the negative impact of the pandemic confronted two effects: delayed demand and appropriate financing. The delayed demand and the appropriate financing enabled us to have the impact of pandemic a very short time in Turkey."

"We Have Overhauled Almost All Segments Of Our Product Range As We Enter This Year"

Expressing that they maintain their position as the market leader this year as well, Kurt said that; "We maintain our position as the market leader this year, as in the previous year, in the market that covers the tonnages of our own criteria. As of the end of July, we see that we have a 37 percent market share within the segments we measured. The rates I mentioned are the data of the Heavy Commercial Vehicles Association (TAID). I can say that we, as the Mercedes-Benz brand, have overhauled almost all segments and all points of our product range as we enter this year. In particular, we renewed our tow truck product group both in terms of exterior appearance, equipment and horsepower, and our vehicles have undergone a very comprehensive makeover as of this year. Therefore, we call our product portfolio the "New Actros". In the tractor group, we entered the high horsepower and equipment segment, where we were not very active before. We introduced our new Actros1851 GigaSpace vehicle to the market and positioned it at a very attractive point, we are extremely pleased with the interest shown so far. Apart from that, we also reviewed and renewed our products in the construction segment; they also got some new equipment."

"We Strengthened Our Product Group For The Garbage Segment"

Emphasizing that there are also innovations in the garbage segment and that the product group has been strengthened, Kurt said in his speech that; "Last year, with the effect of the elections, there has been a serious dynamism in public procurements, especially in the garbage segment, which we call solid waste. We strengthened our product group for this segment. We now have a new product in the 18-ton segment that forms the backbone of the garbage segment. In addition, the 10-ton Atego in the light waste or light distribution segment was introduced to the market. As a result of all these, we closed the market share of 32 percent last year. On the basis of all these product innovations, we have slightly increased our market share compared to the previous year. I can say that we are satisfied with the results in the tow truck segment where we are innovating extensively."

"Demand in the Domestic Market and Production in the Domestic Market Increased"

Bulent Tarhan, Mercedes-Benz Turk Truck Public Sales and Export Group Manager, said the following about the export figures: "Actually, the share of exports in production has decreased, because of the increase in the share of the domestic market in production. While the factory was working for export around 90 percent last year, this rate has decreased this year because demand in the domestic market and production in the domestic market have increased. In this context, as Mr. Alper said, it is also related with the stagnation of the European market. We are focused on increasing the localization rate of products, increasing the competitive business and making it more attractive in terms of price. For us, the sales are made by the distributors of the relevant countries abroad, we are the production center and we are mainly here to serve the domestic market. Although exports have a very important share in our company's vision and plans, our main focus will always continue to be the domestic market."

"This Year, The Domestic Market Is Predominant"

Alper Kurt, Truck Marketing and Sales Director, says the following on the subject: "A few years ago, in the capacity increase project at our Aksaray plant, there was a capacity increase, some of which was created to produce for the domestic market and the remaining half for export markets. The rates expressed by Mr. Bülent here may vary depending on the developments in the domestic market. In a year where we experience the lowest market of the last 20 years in the domestic market, the weight of production is shifting in favor of exports, but we are pleased that the domestic production is increasing in parallel with the increase as in this year. This is about how much the total capacity of our factory is used. As a result, exports are lower than the previous years for all brands due to the 40% decline in the European market this year. This year, we are balancing this in the domestic market. Last year, exports were dominant, this year the domestic market is dominant, but a situation out of plan is out of the question for both of our factories. "

"Calculated With Superstructure or Without Superstructure"

Continued his assessment directed to the domestic structure of vehicles manufactured in Aksaray, Bulent Tarhan said that; "We are engaged in manufacturing since 1986 in Turkey and we are a domestic manufacturer providing employment. The technical locality calculation varies from product to product, in fact, at this point, there may be insignificant results in the truck due to the superstructure. To give an example, this percentage is net in the Mercedes-Benz buses produced by Hoşdere, while the situation in the truck is a bit more complicated, because the condition of including superstructure or excluding superstructure changes the calculation a lot."

Regarding the subject, Alper Kurt said that; "The truck is considered as semi-finished products as it leaves the factory and is registered to traffic after being completed with a superstructure. It does not give a very meaningful result to say "this is for this product" in relation to the localization rate including superstructure, as the added amount may constitute a high rate in the account, depending on the type of superstructure used in the domestic calculation of the completed product. In finished products such as buses, we can express our localization rate more clearly, but as stated by Mr. Bülent, Mercedes-Benz Turk is a domestic manufacturer that creates added value to our country's economy, I think summarizes the subject."

"Currently We Only Sell Vehicles Produced in the Year 2020"

Emphasizing that there is a great increase in the production numbers of the firms doing production in Turkey in the year 2020 for domestic markets, Kurt said that; " Unpredictable increases in the stocks of companies that manufacture or import throughout our country were a matter of the past year. Despite the pandemic, we observe that as of today, mostly 2020 model vehicles are sold in the market with the effect of the significant growth in the domestic market. In this aforementioned issue, we cannot turn off production or imports like turning off the light of a room during a very sudden decline for certain reasons, especially in the truck market. We can intervene 2 months after we stop it. In 2018-2019, there were such situations due to sudden fluctuations in the market, but there is no problem in production and import in 2020, we are currently only selling vehicles for the 2020 production year.

"Spare Parts Supply Continued Uninterrupted"

Speaking about the supply of spare parts, Kurt said that; "As a result, there was a one-month shutdown in the supply chain at both the bus and truck factories. Our Hoşdere Bus Factory was closed from 23 March and Aksaray Truck Factory from 28 March until 20 April and 24 April, respectively. We have been one of the brands that stopped production at least or started production fastest among truck manufacturers in Europe. We did not encounter any problems in our supply chain that hinder our plan or production. During the pandemic period, all our authorized services for spare parts and our stations that provide 24-hour emergency service remained active. Spare parts supply continued uninterrupted. Therefore, in addition to our authorized sales network, our authorized service network continued to provide uninterrupted service to all our customers throughout the pandemic."

"We Maintain Our Market Leadership With Our Products in All Segments"

Describing the tow truck segment as one out of every two trucks sold is tow truck, Mercedes-Benz Turk Truck Sales Operations Group Manager Murat Kızıltan said that; "The market for the tow trucks was around 40 percent. According to the data we have received from TAID in the first seven months of 2020 this year, if we include 6-9 tons, the total truck market has reached 52 percent with the tow truck segment. So one out of every two trucks was tow truck and we see this trend increasing. On the construction side, this ratio has dropped a little more than last year. The construction segment, especially due to the stocks in many brands, developed in a segmentation in the direction of selling whatever is in the stocks of the brands, not customer demand in the market last year. The construction segment, which was around 25 percent last year, has declined to 17 percent this year. When we look at the cargo side, it was around 15 percent. Again, in the light truck segment, which we call 9-21 tons and 6-9 tons, both of them were realized in 6 thousand with a share of 18 percent as of the end of July. In our entire product range, we continue to be the segment leader in all our products in all segments, starting from 9 tons, excluding the 6-9 tons light truck at the bottom. We maintain our leadership in tow truck and construction. Competition in light trucks in the cargo segment is intense. We continue to lead our own product Atego in the segment we call 9-21 tons.

"We Are Receiving The Signals of Returning to Regular Year Values"

Making assessments on the issue Alper Kurt said that; When we say "The regular truck market in Turkey is around 30 thousand, the market is going well, according to last year's rise", actually we still go below the normal level. If there is no major break in the last quarter, the point where the market has gone is actually the total market size that can reach half of a normal level. About the segmentation, as Mr. Murat Bey mentioned "50 percent of the market is tow truck, 17-18 percent is construction, 17-18 percent is cargo and the rest is cargo and light truck segment; this provides an image that coincides with markets which we call "the normal markets of Turley" in Euro 5 worls and those high markets.  In fact, we are getting signals of a return to normal year values ??not only in terms of quantity but also as segmentation in the market."

"A Product of Mercedes Has Been Purchased, Used and Satisfied"

About the fleet sales, Mercedes-Benz Turk Truck Fleet Sales Group Manager Yusuf Adıgüzel said that; "Fleet sales are a point where Mercedes-Benz Turk has been active and strong since recent years. Therefore, we started working two years ago as a heavy responsibility. It is very important for us that this relationship, which has been formed based on long years and trust, continues uninterruptedly. Mercedes-Benz has many long-standing brand friends in this market over the years. For example, when we go to a fleet customer in any province of Anatolia, even if we do not meet in person, they say: "Do you come from Mercedes? Welcome." Here we see this: A product of Mercedes-Benz has been purchased, used and satisfied. So the brand promise has been fulfilled."

"Our Vehicles Have Succeeded In Making Our Customers' Face Smile In The Meaning Of Fuel Efficiency"

Adıgüzel also makes the following evaluations about fuel efficiency by saying that; "At first Euro 6, everyone had a hesitation as to "Would it work with all kinds of fuel?" This was especially true for transporters working abroad. Those who approached with hesitation, after witnessing Euro 6 consumption, made their way to a dealer to change their vehicle. When we look at it now, we are watching the Euro 5 population very closely, especially in terms of service turnover. There is naturally a growing population of Euro 6. Our Euro 6 engine vehicles succeeded in making our customers happy in terms of fuel efficiency."

"We Never Engage In A One-Time Sales Relationship With Our Customers"

Making evaluations on fuel consumption, Alper Kurt said that; "While separating our sales by channel, the fleet has a very important place. Size or fleet creation is different in each segment, tow truck, construction, distribution. But the most important difference between the fleet side and the individual side comes from awareness and priorities on total cost of ownership. Fuel, which is one of the most important components of the total cost of ownership, is at the forefront with the resistance of engines to fuel quality in Euro 5 times. When we switched to Euro 6, all brands had other advantages accompanying the increasing prices due to technology investment. The sensitivity to the initial investment amount paid off with the difference it created in other rings of the value chain offered by our brand. Fuel consumption is of course a very important point here, but apart from that, the service-interval of our vehicles has also extended."

Our low fuel consumption, prolonged maintenance intervals and traditionally high second-hand values ??in all products of our brand, especially after a certain economic usage period, have made our brand one of the most preferred brands especially on the fleet side in terms of total cost of ownership and continues to do so. In general, fleet is a channel where relationship management based on trust as well as commercial rational predominates. Trust is a state of affairs over the years and has many different titles, but one of the most important components of our success in fleets is our uncompromising discipline and stability in price management. We never enter into a one-time sales relationship with our customers. In other words, our brand concept of being a family exists in the truck as well as in the bus. We can describe our relationship with our customers based on trust and long-term."

"We Have Switched To Actros Series Instead Of Our Old Axor Series"

Stating that their vehicles have been changed, Çağdaş Özen, Mercedes-Benz Turk Product Management Truck Group Manager, said about the New Actros Series that; "In fact, like every passenger vehicle, it is a vehicle that people prefer considering the total cost of ownership rather than their personal taste. Our traditional share of 40 percent in the market is actually the clearest indicator of how much we satisfy the customer in terms of total cost of ownership. In fact, with the Euro 6 transition in 2016, we made serious changes in our vehicles. We have switched entirely to the Actros Series, replacing our old Axor series. Our vehicles have experienced significant changes both visually and in terms of suspension. When it comes to this year, we can say that technology, comfort and safety have been taken a few steps forward. Let me give a few examples, which are currently owned by only the Mercedes-Benz brand and offer some advantages in terms of both safety and economy, which we can only offer in the sector. The new "Mirror Glass" technology that stands out the most in our vehicles when viewed from the outside. We now have an aerodynamic camera accent on the outside instead of the old, conventional mirrors, and two large high-resolution screens inside that match them. When we look at it from the outside and do not go into detail, it seems only a technological innovation, but it provides both the angle of view and the blind spot created by the mirror in bends and intersections. When you put together many features such as the ability to see a much wider angle and at the same time provide extra security to the driver in areas such as lane change, the ability to follow the left of the trailer while maneuvering, it has a significant effect both in terms of safety and driving comfort. Also, as the mirrors disappeared, the air resistance during driving decreased. According to our calculations, this provides 1.3 percent fuel savings per year in an average usage. It is extremely important in terms of expenses for an individual customer or a fleet customer."

"The Most Important Safety Feature Offered Only In Mercedes-Benz Vehicles"

Özen continued his speech by mentioning the features of the New Actros and said that; "Active Brake Assistant 5" is another feature we have presented with the new Actros. Active Brake Assist is actually a feature that has to be offered in the whole sector since 2016, but the framework drawn by the law is only for the specific reactions of the vehicle at a certain speed and in fact to reduce the crash severity. Our new technology is much more than this, it prevents collisions by performing full braking when driving up to 90 km / speed. Another feature of us is "Pedestrian Detection". According to the research conducted in Europe; 50 percent of the accidents involving trucks take place as a result of collisions. In fact, we are talking about a system that can be used in accordance with the rules and within the capability of the system, which can greatly prevent accidents caused by these 50 percent collisions. This is important not only for the user inside the vehicle, but also for the other user and the load they carry. Pedestrian detection is actually a feature that is more important in urban situations. Active Brake Assist 5 detects pedestrians on the road with both camera and radar system while driving up to 50 km / h. If the driver does not react in time, he can prevent a collision by first an audible and visual warning, followed by full braking. This is the most important safety feature offered only in Mercedes-Benz vehicles as of today."

"Financing and Scrap Incentives That Will Grow the Market Positively"

Alper Kurt, who also made evaluations regarding the state incentives, said that; "The common view of TAID and the Automotive Industry Association (OSD) on this issue is to create a support in the direction of scrap incentives. There were those who waited for another term and continued to use their vehicles during the term of transition from Euro 5 to Euro 6, instead of renewing their fleet due to fuel concerns, in the market recession of Turkey.  In particular, we think that the companies that transport in the direction of our southern neighbors have a very serious place in the postponed demand. I keep the fuel issue aside, but I think the renewal and replacement of these vehicles will definitely affect the market positively. The SCT rate in trucks is around 4 percent. So what is expected is a scrap and financing incentive rather than a tax. This year, it was the wide and suitable financing opportunities provided by the public banks on the domestic production side, which especially enlarged the market and increased the motivation for renewal, not the growth of the fleets. As the industry and local producers, we are grateful for this, it has been a great benefit. Whether it will continue in this way depending on the macroeconomic developments in the last quarter is a separate issue, but we think that it is the financing and scrap incentives that will positively grow the market.

"We Can Provide All The Services Our Customers May Need While Buying Tow Truck, From A Single Point"

Referring to the Actros, their new vehicles, and their second hand buying and selling services, Kurt said that; "The new Actros is one of the parts of the total value chain we offer to the customer. The services provided with the vehicle, as well as uninterrupted emergency service for our own vehicle, second hand purchase and sale services, other brands of vehicles can also be included in this, and we have our own financing service surrounding them all. Therefore, we can provide our customers with all the services they may need while purchasing tow trucks from a single point, from our sales points. This is one of the indispensable parts of the value chain we offer to our customers, both in the purchase and sale of our own brand and in evaluating the vehicles of those who want to return to our brand and who own vehicles other than the Mercedes-Benz brand. This year, there was a serious movement in second-hand prices, especially due to the fact that the supply in the market was lower than demand for a certain period. Prices of everything have resulted with a serious stir in the market coupled with the zero-sided funding be provided at this level but still we refer to as a serious case of half of Turkey's normal market movements. The signals have been positive so far, we have the final quarter ahead. Therefore, it is early to comment on the year's closing; we foresee that the market over 6 tons will go towards 15 thousand units."

"We Want To Be The Market Leader This Year, Too"

Emphasizing that the campaigns are continuing, Kurt said that; "As in July, our campaigns continued in August, especially on the financing side. We are cooperating with public banks here. We offer much lower financing conditions compared to the normal rates of our customers through our own financing institution. Our cooperation with a non-public bank continues this month as well. Our current growth and performance is a result of the support we provide to this market with our products. We will continue it within the bounds of possibility in the last quarter and we intend to be the market leader this year as well. Service contracts campaigns are also at very advantageous prices. It is very important to control the total cost of ownership here. Normally, in the financing world, financing is not very easy in transactions that do not have a collateral, but we, as Mercedes-Benz Turk, provide financing support to service contracts with the vehicle or separately through our own financing company."