Anadolu Isuzu General Manager Ömer Lütfü Ablay 

“We will be ‘positively’ affected by the markets that are to shrink”   

Saying their vehicles are also preferred for suitable operating and after-sales costs in addition to their quality, Ömer Lütfü Ablay adds that sales will be positively affected by the markets that are to experience economic contraction.

  Can automotive industry keep the title of the leading export sector, which it took over from the textile sector, for long periods? Could we learn about your views on the automotive industry? 

Turkish automotive industry is in a great leap forward with its annual production of over 1 million units. Turkey can be a global automotive manufacturing base if the current momentum is maintained. For the time being, Turkish automotive industry can be said to have left behind serious problems to a certain extent since it has adopted the economies of scale. In light of the developments in global automotive industry, Turkey is seen as having a very important potential in the European market thanks to its geographical location. However, technology and investment should be given a greater momentum than the current one in order to not fall behind in competition and to sustain the growth. 

How many countries do you export to? Which of these regions do you focus on? 

Currently we export to 18 European countries a majority of which are EU members. We plan to increase this number to 21 in the next year. We take our experience in midi-bus in which we are the pioneer and leader to our European customers. In short, we want to further expand the midi-bus segment, which we have created in Turkey, also in Europe and to improve the customer satisfaction that we have achieved.

 How would the economic contraction in the Euro zone affect Anadolu Isuzu as an exporting company? 

We carefully watch the situation you mentioned, although we have not experienced its effects yet. Anadolu Isuzu has accounted for 70% of total midi-bus export from Turkey. Our exports increased by 50% this year. We aim to raise our total export sales to $100 million in 2008. We export midi-buses that are used in tourism and service transport. I would like to especially emphasize that another reason why our vehicles are preferred in addition to quality, is suitable operating and after-sales costs. Thus I think that our sales will be positively affected in markets that will face economic contraction. Expecting the market for public transport to expand, we plan to grow with our new public transport vehicle Isuzu Citimark. 

What is your target with Isuzu Citimark? 

In 2008 we began to produce and sell the new Isuzu Citimark which is used in public transport. The attention and demand our customers showered on Citimark, which has successfully passed the most difficult endurance tests in Europe, have pleased us very much. We plan to obtain the leadership in the market with our new 9-meter public transport vehicle. With the beginning of the next year, Turkey will pass a significant stage in the EU adaptation process regarding vehicle technology. All commercial vehicles to be sold in Turkey will comply with the Euro 4 exhaust emission standards. As a result, all our new vehicles will be enjoying these technical improvements. The midi-buses we are currently exporting to Europe comply with EU regulation 2001/85/EC.

  Is there a threat especially from China and India-originated “cheap vehicles” to the Turkish commercial vehicles sector? 

We can consider it as a threat in the long run. For this reason, productivity is a crucial issue being on every company’s agenda.  

Do you think Turkish companies attach due importance to R&D works? Are R&D works given priority at Anadolu Isuzu?

 We carry out R&D works at our R&D center where a team of 55 persons from within the company work. We owe the success that we achieved both in domestic and overseas markets to the importance we gave to R&D. In 2007, we ranked 17^th in Turkey with our nearly 6 million YTL R&D spending. Every year we aim to increase the amount dedicated to R&D from our turnover. We benefit from this center when developing our new buses.  

It is seen from the 2008 balance sheets that there is a significant increase in company’s profitability. What reasons do you attribute this fact to? 

We observe that commercial vehicle market is moving in parallel with the last year. Anadolu Isuzu has enjoyed a 15% increase in sales as compared to last year. We have been greatly increasing our market share both in domestic market and European export markets for 25 years with our sales and after-sales services and with Isuzu’s proven quality. 

At the current point, have the targets set a few years ago been met? What kind of targets do you have for the next periods?

 At Anadolu Isuzu, our vision is “becoming an international company that is a strategic base for Isuzu which exports a considerable part of its production and establishes partnerships abroad and provides to these companies the know-how, the technical personnel and the component support.” So far we have achieved every target we set for ourselves while focusing on new targets together with all our employees. The achievements we have enjoyed raise our targets.