Why has Turkey’s trailer manufacturing industry surpassed ours?土耳其挂车制造水平为什么会领先我们了

I recently saw that China’s G20 trailer industry is organizing a study tour to Turkey to learn from the advanced practices of Turkish trailer manufacturers. Many people in the special-purpose vehicle industry may not be familiar with the current state of Turkey’s trailer manufacturing capabilities, so we’ve found a video featuring a Turkish trailer manufacturer for you to watch.

最近看到国内挂车G20要组织去土耳其考察，参观学习土耳其挂车企业的先进经验。土耳其挂车的制造水平现在达什么程度了，可能很多专用车圈子的人不太了解，那我们给大家找了一个土耳其挂车企业的视频给大家看看。

Why do I take such a keen interest in Turkey whenever I hear its name? In fact, I first dealt with Turkish trailer manufacturers back in 2004, when their manufacturing standards were actually inferior to ours. So why have they managed to surpass us over the past decade or so? What exactly is the reason behind this?

I’d like to briefly share a few of my own observations:

● Turkey is situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, enjoying a strategic geographical location;

Turkey is a country that spans both Europe and Asia. It borders the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, Syria and Iraq to the southeast, the Aegean Sea to the west (bordering Greece and Bulgaria), and Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east. Turkey’s geographical location and geopolitical strategic significance are extremely important, making it a crossroads connecting Europe and Asia.

● Labor costs are low, and by manufacturing for European companies, Turkish firms have acquired advanced technologies and can quickly grasp product development trends.

Turkey follows the European model in political, economic, and cultural spheres and is a candidate country for the European Union. The constitution defines Turkey as a democratic state with a separation of church and state and a commitment to the rule of law. Turkey’s foreign policy is oriented toward the West, strengthening ties with European nations while maintaining a traditional strategic partnership with the United States.

● In culture and sports, Turkey aligns with European standards and has benefited greatly from this alignment.

The Turkish population is predominantly of European-Mediterranean descent. Turkey is a member of NATO, a founding member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and a member of the G20. With a strong industrial base, it is one of the world’s emerging economies and one of the fastest-growing nations globally.

为什么一看到土耳其，我就会这么关心呢？其实我早在2004年就已经和土耳其挂车企业有过交手，当时他们的制造水平还不如我们，为什么在这十几年的时间反手超越了我们，到底是为什么？
我简单谈谈一点自己的看法：

●土耳其地处欧亚交汇处，地理位置优越；

土耳其是一个横跨欧亚两洲的国家，北临黑海，南临地中海，东南与叙利亚、伊拉克接壤，西临爱琴海，与希腊以及保加利亚接壤，东部与格鲁吉亚、亚美尼亚、阿塞拜疆和伊朗接壤。土耳其地理位置和地缘政治战略意义极为重要，是连接欧亚的十字路口。

●人工费用低，给欧洲公司代工学习到了先进技术，并能快速掌握产品的发展趋势。

在政治、经济、文化等领域均实行欧洲模式，是欧盟的候选国。宪法规定土耳其为民主、政教分离和实行法制的国家。土耳其外交重心在西方，在与美国保持传统战略伙伴关系的同时加强与欧洲国家的关系。

●文化体育向欧洲看齐，从中受益良多。

土耳其人主要是欧洲人种-地中海血统，北约成员国，也是经济合作与发展组织创始会员国和二十国集团的成员。拥有雄厚的工业基础，为世界新兴经济体之一，亦是全球发展最快的国家之一。

Africa is the key market for China’s trailer exports. Since 2004, I have been competing with Turkish trailer manufacturers in the African market. At that time, Turkey’s manufacturing standards were likely inferior to China’s, but over the past 15 years, it feels as though our design capabilities have been left far behind.

What exactly have we been through over the past decade or so?

中国挂车出口的重点市场就是非洲，从04年开始我一直与土耳其一些挂车企业在非洲市场上竞争，当时土耳其的制造水平应该不及我国，但在这15年期间，感觉我们的设计水平已经被远远的甩掉了。
这十几年我们到底经历了什么呢？

To summarize, there are two key points: overloading and load optimization (now more commonly referred to as weight reduction). In fact, our trailer development over the years has revolved around these two aspects. In the early days, we focused solely on overloading, to the point where the load-bearing capacity of our trailers rivaled that of trains. While this helped alleviate some of the transportation pressures brought about by economic development, it also came at a significant cost: damage to road infrastructure, a rising number of traffic accidents, and the waste of vast amounts of resources. These are all indisputable facts.

总结一下就两点，超载和治载（现在应该称轻量化），其实我们这些年就是围绕着这两点来发展我们的挂车了，早些时候就是一味的去超载，让我们的挂车承载设计都能与火车相比了，虽然解决经济发展带来的一些交通运输压力，但也让我们付出了更多的代价，道路基地设施的损坏，交通事故不断增长，大量资源被浪费，这些都是不争的事实。

The video above gives you a basic understanding of the manufacturing standards for Turkish trailers. Although their infrastructure may not yet match ours, in terms of vehicle design alone, they have already surpassed us; the specialization, adaptability, and convenience of their trailers are far more pronounced. And what about us? We’re still debating the legality of 17-meter flatbed trucks, flatbed dump trucks, tank dump trucks, conveyor belt dump trucks, and so on.

Those who formulate vehicle policies do not use the vehicles themselves, while those who actually use them have no platform to discuss the rationality of these policies during the formulation process. There is a disconnect between vehicle design and actual usage; vehicles originally designed to transport grain often end up hauling sand and gravel, and policies mandating dedicated-use vehicles remain unenforced.

Looking at the development of specialized vehicles in Europe and the United States, the success of trailers is determined by market demand. For example, the U-shaped dump semi-trailers popular in Europe and the U.S. feature high load-bearing capacity and low self-weight (thanks to wear-resistant steel bodies), and there is significant market demand for them. However, in China, such vehicles do not comply with domestic regulations and therefore cannot meet the needs of domestic customers.

通过上面的视频大家可以对土耳其挂车的制造水平有了一个简单的了解，虽然在一些基础设施上可能还不及我们，但就从车辆设计本身上，人家已经超越了我们，挂车的专用性、适应性，便捷性更加突出。而我们呢？还在对什么17米大板车、平板自卸车、罐式自卸车、输送带自卸车等等上争论是否合法化。
制订车辆政策的不用车，用车的在政策制订时没有地方讨论其合理性，车辆设计与后期使用中存在不统一性，本来是设计运输粮食的，实际上最后都会去输运沙石，专车专用的政策无落实。
纵观欧美专用车发展，挂车能有好的发展之路，都是由市场需求来决定的，比如欧美流行的U型自卸半挂车，其承载力强，自重轻（采用耐磨板箱体），市场需求量很大，但在我们国内这种车是不符合国内法规的，因此无缘国内客户的需求。

Good products are often constrained by regulations, but whether they truly meet market needs is ultimately up to the public to judge. What kind of trailers do we actually need, and which ones are right for us? While it is always beneficial to learn from other countries, we also need to establish domestic regulations for trailers that better suit market demands, continuously improve our trailer manufacturing standards, and strive to become a leading nation in vehicle manufacturing.

好的产品往往被政策给限制了，但到底是不是市场所需要的，这个还靠大家来评判，到底我们需要什么样的挂车，什么样的挂车才适合我们？我们向任何一个国家去学习都是正确的，但也需要我们国内有更适合市场需求的挂车法规推出来，不断提高我们挂车制造水平，向车辆制造强国迈进。

居龙钢铁是制造业服务专家，服务于国内制造水平的转型升级，在制造业用材与加工延伸的供应链路上资源共享。我们在这里恭候您的光临，愿与广大致力于中国制造业转型升级的同路人一同前行。