Turkish Automotive Industry Met at the 12th Aftermarket Conference

The Turkish automotive industry met at the 12th Aftermarket Conference. During the event, critical issues such as the risks and opportunities that have evolved as a result of the automotive industry's transformation, the reflections of supply chain difficulties, and cyber security were scrutinized.

The Aftermarket Conference, organized in collaboration with TAYSAD, OSS, and OIB (Automotive Industry Exporters Association), was held for the 12th time this year. At the event, the reflections on the change in the automotive industry on the aftersales market, and the problems and opportunities in the sector were evaluated. In keeping with tradition, The Aftermarket Conference organized a meeting on a worldwide scale this year, hosting surprise guests from abroad as well as Turkey. The surprise guests of the event, which was held as a video conference, were Thorsten Muschal, President of CLEPA, Europe's umbrella organization of the automotive supply industry, and Cor Baltus, CEO of FIGIEFA, Europe's umbrella federation of automotive aftersales associations. The organization also included representatives from manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and independent services.

“We temporarily lost the leadership to the chemical industry. However, it is a fun race”

TAYSAD Chairman of the Board Albert Saydam said, "Positive terms are used to represent the situation in automotive; we even say 'a point open to progress'" at the conference's opening. But today, it is tough to find positive expressions to describe the situation of the economy in the automotive industry. There are other factors besides the destructive trends, which are expressed with the abbreviation CASE (Connectivity, Autonomous Driving, Car Sharing, and Electrification), which are in the lives of all of us. For instance, the risk of geopolitical crises or even war, supply chain disruptions, or the high rise in commodity prices.

Maybe, there was one last addition to these. For 16 years, the automotive industry has been the leader in our country with 30-billion-dollar export. In the last two months, I think we temporarily lost this leadership to the chemical industry. However, it is a fun race. We believe that by taking the right steps, we will once again reinforce our leading position in the national economy in this race."

Date for the Turkish automotive aftermarket: 2035!

OSS Association Chairman of the Board Ziya Özalp said, “Zero diesel and gasoline vehicles still have a very substantial market dominance compared to electric vehicles.

Considering the average age of the Turkish car park, this structural transformation, which is likely to be completed within the next 10 years, is expected to have a greater influence on the Turkish automotive aftermarket after 2035."

OIB Chairman Baran Çelik stated that "It is necessary to emphasize that the aftermarket sector will also be affected by this transformation, and that it should take action in this direction at this time" by highlighting the areas that need to be invested in vehicles such as digital instrument panels, cameras, sensor technologies, charging equipment, power distribution systems, fuel cells, innovative and light materials, and multimedia systems.

Thorsten Muschal, President of CLEPA, said, “There is a serious demand for electric vehicles. This means a great transformation for our industry. The mobility of tomorrow will be different. Connectivity, on the one hand, digital transformation, on the other hand, and environmentally friendliness, on the other… Various improvements, such as more collaboration between vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, will be required.”

In order to protect both cyber security and privacy...

Cor Baltus, President of FIGIEFA, stated that as vehicles are becoming more connected to each other day by day, and as a result, critical information is produced. Baltus stated, "Today we can launch a discussion in Europe about who will be in control of this data. As independent companies, we trust the manufacturers of the vehicles.” "We are talking about technological innovations that can protect both cyber security and privacy," said Baltus, adding that "It is very important that we can not only access the data but also control the data. I think we should be able to evaluate the data inside the vehicle. We would like to express that we need this so that our services can be delivered to the right place at the right time while maintaining privacy. Access to information within the vehicle must be secured in order to protect the interaction between a human and the vehicle. For this, it is necessary to create a framework based on responsibility and endurance."