First Mercedes-Benz Actros rolls off assembly line in Aksaray
The first Mercedes-Benz Actros rolled off the assembly line at the plant in Aksaray, Turkey in early December, marking the beginning of series production of the Mercedes-Benz Actros for the Turkish market. Back in April, Mercedes-Benz Trucks decided to intensify its involvement in Turkey and therefore launched the Actros to exploit new market segments.
The vehicles produced in Aksaray are destined for the Turkish market as well as for export. The vehicles are currently shipped in kits form from Wörth to Aksaray, where they are subsequently assembled and finished.
By offering its full product range in Turkey and conducting assembly operations there, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is demonstrating its long-term commitment to Turkey as a production location and substantially strengthening the production network between the Wörth and Aksaray plants. “Actros production in Turkey is a clear expression of the company’s commitment to the Aksaray plant,” says Wolf-Dieter Kurz, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Türk. “We will invest €130 million in the location over the next five years in order to further increase our competitiveness.”
The investments include a new assembly hall, the introduction of new painting methods, and an increase of the Actros trucks’ local content. Yaris Pürsün, who is responsible for the production of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and the Wörth and Aksaray plants, says, “We want to meet the demand for heavy-duty trucks on the Turkish market quickly and flexibly. Two strong locations and the production network give us the flexibility we need to do just that, and highly qualified and motivated employees ensure that our customers get the ‘Trucks you can trust’ quality from Mercedes-Benz Trucks that they appreciate so much.”
As of November 2010, Mercedes-Benz Trucks had a share of more than 38% of the Turkish market, making it the undisputed market leader in the heavy-duty truck segment. Turkey is the third-largest sales market for Mercedes-Benz Trucks after Germany and Brazil.
Mercedes-Benz Türk is topping off the range of products manufactured in Turkey — from the Atego to the Axor and the Unimog — with the Actros, the Mercedes-Benz flagship truck for the heavy-duty long-distance road haulage segment. The product range will now include not only semitrailer trucks but also the construction-site version of the Actros. All of the trucks feature the tried and tested BlueTec engines from Mercedes-Benz and satisfy the Euro 4 and Euro 5 emissions standards.