Heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer Scania has met the members of the press to make an assessment of the heavy commercial vehicle sector for 2018 and share their expectations for 2019. Doğuş Automotive Scania General Manager İlhami Eksin, Scania Sales Manager Gökhan Altun, Scania After Sales Services Manager Bayazıt Canbulat and Scania Marketing and Business Development Manager Adnan Yücel have attended the press conference. İlhami Eksin has emphasized that although they've left a difficult year behind, the sector will see an even tougher year according to the numbers. He said: "In spite of everything, our marketshare has increased by 1 percent in 2018. The fact that we've managed to maintain our after sales revenues, has been yet another positive aspect for our company."

"We Estimate That Approximately 10 Thousand Units Will Be Sold This Year"

In his assessment at the press conference, Doğuş Automotive Scania General Manager İlhami Eksin has stated that as the excavation works of mega construction projects have largely been finished in 2018, the truck market has declined by nearly 51 percent and continued: "The decline was milder for the heavy commercial vehicle tractor market with just 11 percent. Our brand has concluded 2018 with a total sales figure of 1.177 units and a market share of 10 percent. We've achieved 16 percent of the tractor truck market shares with 1.031 units. Our brand has also become the most popular brand in the import tractor truck market with its 23 percent market share."

Eksin said: "In 2015, we've been through the Euro 5 and Euro 6 transition. In that year, we've reached our highest sales figures with the sales of 33 thousand units. The decline began after that year. As you know, heavy vehicle vehicles are divided into two groups: trucks and tractors. When we examine the sales charts from the last 20 years, on average, 25 thousand units have been sold in the heavy-duty vehicle market. We estimate that approximately 10 thousand units of heavy-duty vehicles will be sold in 2019. We've observed that, although the heavy commercial vehicle market has been on a decline since 2015, the light commercial and passenger vehicle markets haven't experienced a similar decline. This might be an explanation for this phenomenon: Since the heavy-duty vehicle market is based on an investment good, it detects the economy much earlier. As you may remember: there have been similar events in the 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2008 crisis."

"Total Market May Peak After 2020"

"According to the analysis, the total heavy commercial vehicle market can periodically go through declines.  What makes us hopeful for the future is that fact that; with the end of recession, the total market always rises even more for each year it has remained below 25 thousand units and it brings the market over 30 thousand units. Therefore, as of 2020, the total market may rise from the bottom up to the peak as it did before and complete the year at 30 thousand units. Just as it does all around the world, LNG-powered vehicles will start becoming more and more prominent in Turkey and this will be the point of growth of the market."

 "We Will Present Our LNG and CNG-Powered Vehicles"

Scania Sales Manager Gökhan Altun has underlined that they've increased their market share to 10 percent in 2018 and that 2018 has been a year with very inconsistent conditions, both for them and for the sector itself. He said: "Now, we're manufacturing our new generation vehicles in all our factories. In 2019, we will hold a major Road Show at provinces where we have dealerships and introduce our products to our customers. Throughout the year, we will make even more visits, support even more customers, understand the changing conditions and challenges even better and offer Scania solutions for all. Again, this year we're planning on presenting our alternative fuel-powered, LNG and CNG-powered vehicles. In 2018, we've invested in Kayseri and at the center of our sector in Mersin's Tarsus county. Our restructuring efforts will continue in full swing in 2019 as well. We will add 2 new authorized dealerships to the Scania family. These valuable investments indicate that our business partners also think like us and trust in both our national economy and Scania."

"We've Made Record Number of Maintenance & Repair Agreements"

Scania After Sales Services Manager Bayazıt Canbulat said: "Achieving a problem-free operation and reducing the costs are the most important factors for a logistics company. This year, we didn't want to focus on anything outside these two significant factors. Therefore, we've agreed with our authorized service points to make a record number of maintanence & repair agreements. We've signed 300 maintanence & repair agreements in January alone. Above all, these agreements provide a price guarantee for our customers. Thanks to the maintenance agreement, vehicle owners don't have to pay anything extra for 3-4 years, even if the spare part and maintenance prices go up. People always thought: 'Turkish investors wouldn't want to make long-term investments in their vehicles.' With this record, we've managed to change their minds. We're offering acceptable prices in the market. Our promotions still continue. We can also say that our customers have also accepted these promotions. We solve the customer complaints we receive at our call center, within a single day."

"We've Clearly Seen the Cost Advantages of Gas-Powered Vehicles During Our Tests"

In his statement, Scania Marketing and Business Development Manager Adnan Yücel has indicated that alternative fuel-powered, electric-powered or autonomous vehicles have become more and more prominent in the heavy commercial vehicle sector and said: "Scania leads the way in these areas. So much so that in various countries, there are autonomous or electric-powered Scania vehicles at quarries, construction sites or areas that have been closed to passenger vehicle traffic. The number of these vehicles will grow even further in medium term. Moreover, the CNG and LNG-powered vehicles will have an important role during this transition period. We've clearly seen the cost advantages of gas-powered vehicles during our tests. It makes us proud to reduce our carbon footprint while decreasing transportation costs, as we leave a better world for future generations."