Mercedes to Produce Cars in Turkey Domestically?

Turkey urges Mercedes to expand investments, produce cars domestically.

Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün received Wolf Dieter Kurz, top official from Mercedes-Benz Türk, in his office in Ankara at the beginning of this week.

At a recent meeting with German vehicle manufacturer Mercedes Benz’s Turkey operation, Mercedes-Benz Türk, Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün asked the company’s top executive to manufacture cars along with the commercial vehicles they already produce in the country, the Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.

Ergün received Wolf Dieter Kurz, head of Mercedes-Benz Türk, and Süer Sülün, the marketing and sales head of the German auto giant, in his office at the ministry in Ankara at the beginning of this week. According to the information Anatolia received as to the content of the meeting, the minister underlined that Turkey’s vehicle production is at European Union standards and added that a majority of the vehicles produced are exported to the 27-member bloc’s member states.

At their meeting Kurz said they have plans to invest an additional $200 million in Mercedes-Benz Türk’s Aksaray and Hoşdere plants, Anatolia said. “Turkey is not only a production hub but also a research and development base,” Kurz noted. “We would like to renew our truck portfolio in Turkey with the new investments,” he was also quoted as saying by the agency.

The head of Mercedes-Benz’s Turkish operations also underlined that Turkey has a very suitable investment and business environment and that they see the country not only as a domestic market for their vehicles but also as a hub to expand into other countries. “It was 44 years ago when we settled in Turkey and, so far, we have never regretted being here,” Kurz said. He also underlined that their production of trucks and buses in Turkey narrowed by 80 and 25 percent, respectively, in the past year due to the global financial crisis, but, he said, thanks to precautions taken by the Turkish government, they were able to continue with their activities without laying off workers.

Mercedes-Benz Türk, established in 1967, has more than 900 million euros invested in Turkey and currently has two plants in the country — the Hoşdere production plant in İstanbul where it produces buses, and the Aksaray truck plant in Central Anatolia where it manufactures light, medium and heavy-duty trucks. The company employs more than 4,500 people in Turkey and another 2,500 through its nationwide dealer and customer service network. As Turkey is constantly urging foreign companies to invest in the country’s automotive sector, often referred to as the “locomotive” of its economic growth, it has also recently expressed a wish to produce its own national car brand. Experts who spoke to Today’s Zaman in the past pointed out that the goal of producing a nationally produced car is attainable and that for Turkey mass producing its own car brand will no longer be simply a dream.

Of those experts, Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD) President Kudret Önen has praised the government’s involvement in the matter and said the Automotive Strategy Paper — one of the sector-specific papers included in the Industry Strategy Paper that is expected to help make reforms in micro areas of the economy — is very important since it is the first time that a government has focused on long-term growth in the sector. This will help Turkey make its dream come true, he believes.

31 March 2011, Thursday /
TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL