The Heavy Commercial Sector Is Very Open As Long As There Are The Trade Volume And Economic Growth
Evaluating the effects of the pandemic process on the market, Ford Trucks Deputy General Manager Serhan Turfan said that; “Last year was a very shallow period for the sector. While we were in the 30 thousand level of markets between 2010 and 2015, we saw that this market fell to 7,500 last year. Therefore, we experienced one of the lowest markets of the last 25 years in the past year. However, we started this year with a lot of hope. We predicted that there would be a growth as all sector representatives. The reason for this is the last four years; very low market, deferred demands and aging of vehicles. We can say that the vehicles are renewed averagely every three and a half or four years. When we looked at it like this, we predicted that the vehicles were also old and should be changed. In this way, we started the year with a serious growth plan. This is how we set up our budgets. As a matter of fact, it was realized according to our estimation. January-February started very high. Almost 600 heavy commerce trucks were sold last year, while 1,500 were sold in the first two months of this year. If you look at growth, we started with a growth of almost 200 percent. This 1,500 shows that by the end of the year, this market may reach 12 thousand levels above our budgets without any difficulty. Indeed, March started like this. But because of Covid-19 emerging since the mid-March, that decline occurred.
“I think we are slowly returning to the period before Covid-19”
Stating that the period before the Covid-19 was restarted, Turfan said that; “In April, compared to the pre- Covid-19, there was a 50 percent decrease in the domestic market. In April, of course, many producers had to close due to health conditions. However, as of May, production started again and we can see that this decrease has reached 25 percent. As of June, I can easily say that; I think we are slowly returning to the period before Covid-19. The main factor here is the logistics of the food industry. In particular, we see that there is a lot of demand from here. Of course, in Covid-19 period, transportation increased rapidly. Apart from this, low interest rates and purchasing conditions are also causing the market to increase.
Turfan states that as Ford Trucks, they took the pandemic process smoothly with the necessary measures. Emphasizing that they also returned to the pre-pandemic production period, Turfan said that; “As Ford Trucks, I can say that we had a very good time. We started well in May in terms of health, we took all our precautions. I can easily say that we returned to our production which was before Covid-19. So there is really a positive atmosphere. ”
“Every Customers’ Need Is Different”
Pointing out that the vehicles in the sector are not the same and have different options according to the needs, Turfan said: “Since it is a shallow market in the sector, its stock status is much lower compared to the 30 thousand markets in the past. Because the stock is kept according to the sales plans. For example, every company has its own strategies. They are progressing with one or two month of stock figures. Therefore, in low markets, of course, the stock quantity is also low. The suspended production caused some mix problems, in particular. Because our sector is not a model sector where vehicles are the same. The needs of our customers are different. For example, when we call the tow truck; there are 5 options; such as wheel height of 960, 1100, 1200. Therefore, since every vehicle is different from each other, our customers experience the most trouble here. They can find certain model vehicles. They may not be able to find the option they want. In some models, we cannot keep up with the demands. However, I wish all our customers to be patient. Because the order will return to normal as of June and July. Of course, there will be a problem of finding a vehicle in a month. But especially companies producing domestic brands like us will meet this demand in a short time. ”
Stating that they are currently trying not to reflect the cost increases, Turfan said: “The rate of exchange increases is quite high. There is also a cost increase brought by the pandemic. They are inevitably reflected to our customers. I do not estimate an increase due to the unavailability. Because we are now able to contact our customer for July. ”
“We See That Our Truck Market Brand Is Very Active In The Second Hand ”
Stating that the second hand market is very active, Turfan said: “Of course, it is turning to the second hand in order to meet the customer demand which is in urgent need. We see that our Truck Market brand is very active in the second hand. Here, the increase in sales in the last two months shows us that the move has taken place. Because there are some customers. They need to buy the vehicle this month and they must do that transportation. This is how we help our customers who cannot wait for the next month’s production. ”
“We Also Organize Campaigns With Postponement And Postponement; These Facilitate Our Customers’ Purchases ”
Emphasizing the importance of government financing support to the sector and organizing campaigns as Ford Trucks to facilitate the purchases of customers, Turfan said: “Financing is a must in our sector. Even the first priority is the subject that will assist the customer in purchasing. Currently, especially the campaigns of the public banks in interest rates are seen. The 0,69 interest rate campaign, known to everyone in the industry, is quite effective. We also organize campaigns with postponement and delay; these of course facilitate the purchases of our customers. We also have campaigns that we provide swap support. I can say that these are paving the way for the sector right now. ”
“Many Customers’ Vehicles Are Waiting For Change”
Turfan states that as Ford Trucks, their support for purchases will continue. Expressing that many customers are waiting for an opportunity to change their vehicle, Turfan said: “Our idea is that the market can go much higher. As I said, although we see growth as compared to last year, we are in a very low place compared to our past 30 thousand level of market. But I can say that we are much more open. Many of our customers’ vehicles are waiting for change. Therefore, they are waiting for opportunities. We are trying to help as much as we can. ”
“Overseas Markets Were More Affected Than Turkey”
Noting that overseas marketswere more affected by the pandemic process market, Turfan said: “I would say that overseas markets affected more than Turkey. Especially the European and Middle Eastern markets. In Europe, the markets in which we are located, especially Italy and Spain, have been heavily affected. These were the markets we entered last year. Numbers fell 50 percent in April and 25 percent in May in the domestic market. There was a 70 percent drop in export markets in April. As a matter of fact, this figure reached 50 percent in May. Therefore, we can say that there is a faster decline. This is due to the fact that the European market has been more balanced in the past compared to us. They weren’t as low as we are, anyway. Therefore, we anticipate these decreases. But as I’m sure it will be the same as is the case in Turkey, the recovery will be prospective. Currently, for example; as of June, I can say that we have received much better orders for export markets. ”
“Many of our Sub-Industries Are Here, Our Relationships Are Very Strong”
Stating that being a local brand gives them an advantage, Turfan said, “After all, of course we use the advantage of being domestic. Many of our sub-industries are here, our relationships with them are very strong. I think we had a good time together with this Covid-19 period. For example, we are now very quickly returning to production numbers before Covid-19. Therefore, we do not have any problems. We got it done faster. The important issue here is we are trying to meet the domestic demand at full capacity. The important thing here is to increase our production capacity with possible increases from abroad. On the other hand, the pace seen in January and February, that is before the first Covid-19, is not a problem for us. We are able to return to this, we do not have any supply problems. If there is a quick demand, this can be an advantage especially in European markets. Because we can provide the supply much faster within ourselves. We have not yet seen the demand in the domestic market we are talking about abroad. ”
“Among Our Plans This Year Was To Enter The French Market And Next Year To The German Market.”
Stating that France and Germany are among the new market plans, Turfan said: “We started with the Mediterranean countries in Western Europe. We entered Italy, Spain and Portugal. This year, our plans included entering France and next year entering the German market. Therefore, we had a plan to start from the Mediterranean and head more north. Currently, there are some delays due to Covid-19 but there is no general change in our plans. We are seriously working on the French market. Our search for strong distributors there continues. So, I can say that we will continue our plans even if it is a little delayed. Covid-19 did not cause any change in our plans. There are only delays. Currently, we continue in the same direction in market searches. ”
“We Conducted Very Important Studies From The Center About Kovid-19”
Expressing that they have taken all the necessary precautions in the pandemic process, Turfan said: “We looked at the event from two aspects in terms of Covid-19, health measures and operational support. We have done very important work on Covid-19 from the center. We have also implemented all the works we have done with our partner Ford from Europe in our dealers. We have taken all disinfection procedures and precautions in all dealers. This was our greatest support taken from the center. We sent them all the necessary equipment and went through the necessary processes. Whatever we apply in our factory, we also applied it to our dealers as precautions. So far, there has been no positive case in all Ford Trucks dealers, except one. So I think we have taken good precautions. The second party also supports operational support. Of course, in order to overcome the difficulties of the period, we supported our dealers just how we support our customers, to get through this period more comfortably, by providing both payments and incentives. As Koç Group, our relations with dealers are always very high. In such periods, we are clamped and we cooperate well. I think they are obviously satisfied right now. ”
“The Heavy Commercial Sector Is Very Open As Long As There Are The Trade Volume And Economic Growth”
Pointing out that 2020 will be a better year than 2019, Turfan said: “I think we will definitely pass 2019. 2019 was a very bad year. I think Turkey is a very large potential; the market is falling from 30 thousand level to one in four. All our work continues. The heavy commercial sector is very open as long as there are the trade volume and economic growth. So I can already say that it will be even higher next year. We started planning. ”
Finally, Turfan emphasized that the necessary measures for Covid-19 should be continued. We have great jobs for all our customers, the entire industry and all of us. We need to continue the necessary precautions without loosening, we try to do this very well within the company and at our dealers. There are incidents we see outside and we are very sorry. I hope we will not experience the second wave if we take the necessary measures together. ”
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