Speaking to EKONOMİ, Süer Sülün, Chairman of the Executive Board of Mercedes-Benz Türk, stated that they expect the contraction in the truck market to accelerate in the second half of the year with the increase in tightening. “2025 will be a year when tightening will be felt more and investments will decrease,” said Süer Sülün.
Truck sales are recognized as one of the leading indicators of the economic outlook. As one of the locomotive companies of the Turkish heavy commercial vehicle industry, Mercedes-Benz Türk operates as one of the three major truck production centers of the German automotive giant Daimler Truck at the Aksaray Truck Factory. As the only member of the press to accompany the long road test of the e-Actros 300 at the Aksaray R&D Center on behalf of EKONOMİ newspaper, I asked Süer Sülün, the Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz Türk, about the latest developments in the truck market. Sülün pointed out that much more difficult days await the truck market, which has started to shrink in parallel with the increases in financing costs and the tightening measures in the economy.
In 2023, the heavy commercial vehicle market grew by 17 percent on an annual basis, the largest sales volume of the last 25 years, and the total number of vehicles sold was 44 thousand 501 units. Last year, the Aksaray Truck Factory, which unloaded 6 out of every 10 trucks produced in Turkey, reached a record number of 14,401 exports to 15 countries. The truck market started this year badly.
9% growth in a shrinking market
Reminding that the total truck market above 6 tons contracted by 11 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, Süer Sülün said, “One of the most important reasons for this contraction is that high financing costs limit new vehicle investments.” Mercedes Benz Türk sold 4,366 tow trucks and 3,666 trucks in the first half of the year. Thus, it increased its sales by 9 percent compared to the same period last year in a shrinking market.
Stating that they foresee that the market will shrink to a greater extent in the second half of the year with the increase in tightening, Sülün continued as follows: “On the truck side, the size of the market this year is largely determined by access and costs in the credit market. We anticipate that the market will not reach the closing levels of 2023 in 2024. We think that the contraction experienced in the first six months will continue to increase in the other half of the year.”
Stating that a lower domestic market is expected in 2025 compared to 2024, Sülün said, “We think that it will be a year when the tightening will be felt more in terms of economic activities and commercial investments for growth will decrease and be replaced by investments for renewal.”
Tailor-made financing solution
Mercedes Benz Türk offers tailor-made solutions to its customers with Mercedes-Benz Truck Financing, which started to serve only the truck & bus product segment. “Mercedes-Benz Truck Financing is the largest financing company in Turkey in terms of asset size. We create a long-term and customized financing ecosystem. Compared to 2023, there is an increase in demand for our financing services in 2024.”
Opened the global door to suppliers
The company continues to invest despite the shrinking market. Most recently, the Consolidation Center Turkey was put into operation last month. Here, truck and bus production parts procured from local suppliers will be gathered at a single point and shipped to Daimler Truck AG’s production facilities in Brazil and America. Mercedes Benz Türk’s Hoşdere Bus Plant, which employs approximately 7,000 people, is the largest integrated bus production facility in the Daimler Buses network.
15 different trucks to be tested on Turkish roads for two years
Aksaray Test Center, which conducts long-haul tests, employs 52 people. The number of vehicles varies according to project diversity and needs. Currently, there are 15 vehicles in the testing process. Long-haul tests of all global Mercedes-Benz trucks (conventional & electric) produced in Daimler Truck AG factories are carried out by Aksaray Test Center operating within Aksaray R&D Center. Since 2023, the Aksaray facility is the only center that has also approved long-haul tests for electric vehicles. The routes take place on 30 different routes in 8 different classifications. In general, the tests take 1.5 – 2 years on average, but this period may vary depending on the size or urgency of the project. Tests are carried out not only for newly developed vehicles, but also for vehicles produced in series. The results of the long-haul tests are shared directly with the parts and project managers. The company’s planned test mileage in 2024 is approximately 2 million kilometers, which means that it has circumnavigated the globe approximately 50 times.
Infrastructure for electric truck sales completed
Mercedes Benz Turk does not yet produce electric trucks in Turkey. The company is just starting the sales activities of electric trucks. Süer Sülün said the following on the subject: “We have been working to complete the necessary infrastructure activities for some time. We have been carrying out preparatory activities for about a year on issues such as personnel training, consultancy concept, preparation of service locations, and cooperation with service providers. In our country, there is not yet sufficient infrastructure, regulation and incentive systems in place for this transformation to gain momentum. We are setting off early to be a pioneer in the heavy commercial vehicle sector in this transformation.”
