While several firms have started carrying out logistics operations by themselves, rental vehicle companies plan to sell some 30,000 commercial vehicles by the end of the year.Prepared by the ministry at the end of the last year in a bid to reorganize the logistics sector and put into force on May 1, the new regulation makes it mandatory for owners of vehicles used for transporting goods to secure 30 new authorization documents to remain on the roads. Currently it is estimated that 250,000 vehicles are now illegal to drive, a figure that is predicted to at least double should inspections also be carried out in Anatolian cities. At present there are only 380,000 vehicles which have the “K licenses” required to keep on operating in freight shipment. According to the legislation, a vehicle lacking the authorization documents will be subject to a TL 2,000 fine and the fines have already started to be levied.
The new rules are also taking their toll on rental car companies. Up until now, some 14 percent of commercial vehicles used by these firms have been sold because the new regulations make it illegal to lease them out and sector representatives expect the remainder of the vehicles also to be sold by the end of the year. It is for this reason that several small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have had to stop operating and many firms have started to meet their transportation needs by transporting goods in cars. While major firms such as Vakko, Volvo, HSBC, Pınar Su, TAV Airports Holding, Viessmann Heating Techniques and Adecco Consultancy have purchased commercial vehicles, Ülker established its own logistics firm to overcome the problem. Türk Telekom withdrew thousands of its vehicles lacking the required authorization to car parks.
Leading rental car company Intercity also took 4,300 commercial vehicles off the road in April. Of these vehicles, 3,500 were rented by SMEs at a monthly price of TL 300 to TL 400. Vural Ak, the company’s CEO, stressed that they have to sell all of these vehicles within the next four months in order not to lose more money. The company has so far sold approximately 300 of them, he said. “There are 130,000 rentable vehicles in the sector, and 30,000 of them are commercial vehicles. So far 4,000 of them have been sold and the remaining 26,000 are planned to be sold by the end of the year. Due to this situation, second-hand commercial vehicle prices have fallen 7 to 8 percent. So the new regulations have adversely affected both SMEs and commercial vehicle owners,” Ak added.
