Every Third Goods Vehicle in Turkey an Austin
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HE number of commercial vehicles t in Turkey has risen from 7,000 in 1945 to 40;000 this year, and a third of the present total of goods vehicles comprises Austins—a make unknown in that country nine years ago. This achievement in export trade has been made in the face of competition from every vehicle-manufacturing country, including Eastern Germany and Japan.
At the end of the war, all exporters to Turkey started with equal opportunities, except the Americans. Every Turkish operator wanted either a Ford or a Chevrolet, or so it seemed, in the belief that only the U.S.A. could make a good 5-tonner. It has to be admitted that the American hold on the Turkish market would be greatertoday had not dollars been short at that time.
Nevertheless, Austin's success could not have been gained without being able to offer a good product at a reasonable price, but the basis of the sales effort was to make spare parts readily and widely available. Roads in Turkey are bad and overloading is common. Purchases of spare parts are far more numerous than in other territories.
Austin appointed two distributors, one in Izmir, known as 0.T.S., covering the small, rich Aegean area, and another in Istanbul, called Tektas, responsible folk the remainder of the country. The Aegean' area did not pose difficult problems in setting up a good spares service. Distances were short and all traffic converged on Izmir.
The rest of the country was harder to tackle, because vehicles were spread in small numbers over a vast territory which possessed some of the world's worst communications.
Mr. Arif Alp, the principal of Tektas, had a wealth of experience in selling and operating vehicles and always imported spare parts in quantities far greater than apparent needs to ensure that every dealer maintained heavy stocks for sale at controlled prices.
He thought in terms of selling through dealers at a time when most importers were concerned only with immediate retail sales. His many friendships enabled him to appoint dealers throughout the country, and he directed his imports of vehicles through them.
,In this way he built am the strength of the dealer organization, particularly on the maintenance-service side. There is now a strong Austin dealer in every Turkish town of any size. Tektas have large modern premises in Istanbul, modern workshops nearing completion in Ankara, a depot in Iskenderun and plans for another at Samsun.
Turkey, however, is suffering from financial troubles and can import vehicles only on long-term credit. Large numbers of American vehicles are now entering the country, apart from those from Eastern Germany and other countries with which Turkey has entered into bilateral-trading agreements.
The outlook for British exporters is discouraging, and it is believed that Austin may lose much that has been gained by the application of foresight and enterprise.