Heavy Vehicle and Trailer Summit: UND, AND and TOİD presidents map the sector's next 10 years on production
The Heavy Vehicle and Trailer Summit, bringing together Türkiye's heavy commercial vehicle, trailer and logistics ecosystem, was co-organised by TAİD and TREDER. Opening under the theme \"The New Journey of the Trailer in the Light of Digitalisation and Autonomous Technologies,\" the summit put UND President Şerafettin Aras, AND President Salih Kodaman and TOİD President Çetin Nuhoğlu on stage to set out the issues that will define the sector's next 10 years.
UND President Şerafettin Aras said the heavy commercial vehicle and trailer industry is no longer only an issue of vehicles and equipment, but a strategic field directly linked to Türkiye's production, logistics, export and global competitiveness. Aras emphasised that competition is no longer shaped only by production costs but also by delivery speed, supply security, traceability, carbon footprint, digital compliance, fleet age, driver availability and border-crossing times. \"Yesterday a trailer was a piece of equipment carrying cargo; today it is a technology unit that also carries data,\" Aras said, framing heavy commercial vehicles as connected, measurable and optimisable mobile technology platforms. Citing TAİD data, he reminded the audience of a 6% contraction in the tractor unit market in 2024-2025 and argued that financing costs, fuel prices, maintenance and insurance bills, and geopolitical risk have made investment decisions far more strategic.
AND President Salih Kodaman said the transport sector is going through a deep transformation along the lines of digitalisation, data management and sustainability, and that the industry must be \"not just a follower but a director\" of this transformation. According to Kodaman, defending competitiveness will require data-led operations, the spread of autonomous technologies across fleets, and integrated driver-equipment planning. Digital traceability in road freight, fuel-consumption optimisation and bringing down the average fleet age stand out as priorities for the sector.
TOİD President Çetin Nuhoğlu said the sector's future will be shaped by \"strong civil society and shared judgment,\" arguing that bringing heavy commercial vehicle, trailer, logistics and supply verticals onto the same platform sends a powerful signal. Nuhoğlu underlined that for Türkiye to become a country that produces not only transport services but also the technology and standards of transport, quality standards, mastery of technical regulation, test infrastructure and engineering capacity must be developed together.
Key Takeaways:
1. Co-organised by TAİD and TREDER, the Heavy Vehicle and Trailer Summit saw UND President Şerafettin Aras, AND President Salih Kodaman and TOİD President Çetin Nuhoğlu lay out a 10-year roadmap for the sector.
2. Şerafettin Aras framed the heavy commercial vehicle and trailer industry as part of Türkiye's production, logistics, export and global-competitiveness strategy, with delivery speed, supply security, carbon footprint and border-crossing times as the new competitive variables.
3. According to TAİD data, the tractor unit market contracted 6% in 2024-2025 as financing costs, fuel-maintenance-insurance expenses and geopolitical risk made investment decisions far more strategic.
4. Salih Kodaman said the transport sector is being reshaped by digitalisation, data management and sustainability, and that defending competitiveness requires the industry to lead this transformation rather than follow it.
5. Çetin Nuhoğlu pointed to the importance of bringing heavy commercial vehicle, trailer, logistics and supply verticals onto the same stage and argued that, to produce transport technology itself, Türkiye must develop quality standards, regulatory mastery and test infrastructure in parallel.
