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EDITORIAL
Arnd Franz,
General Manager
MAHLE Aftermarket.
Dear readers
After a short breathing space in the 90s, the dynamic in the Eastern European
markets that could be observed for some years, has now developed
into sustained growth in vehicle production and vehicle imports as well as
in the vehicle population. In the meantime, many manufacturers anticipate
sustained demand in Eastern Europe and are investing widely in manufacturing
capacities in the region.
MAHLE Aftermarket is dedicated to supplying these markets efficiently with
spare parts from the MAHLE range. This has made us aware of a gradual
shift in the structure of the vehicle population. For example, after the fall
of the Iron Curtain in Russia, American and later German products were
imported swiftly and the dominance of Russian products was weakened. In
the meantime, more and more vehicles from Japanese and Korean manufacturers
can be noticed. In 2005, Hyundai has taken the position of market
leader among foreign manufacturers – with a share of 17 % of the total
passenger car sales in Russia. They are followed by Toyota, Ford and Daewoo.
In August of this year, MAHLE will show its spare part range for the sixth time
in succession at the Autosalon in Moscow. In addition to the comprehensive
range of components for vehicles of Asian manufacturers, the focus will
be on the extensive MAHLE valve range.
Like in the rest of Eastern Europe, MAHLE products are very popular in
Poland. This increasing demand – but also the demand from neighbouring
countries – has now been addressed by MAHLE with the construction of a
distribution centre in Krotoszyn. From this centre, engine components as
well as filters will be available for distribution to customers in Poland, the
Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In addition to the many products
manufactured for MAHLE Aftermarket at the site in Krotoszyn, there will be
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an efficient distribution centre available from the second half of this year that
can handle the larger sales volume.
Under our heading “On location”, we report from extraordinary places,
where MAHLE products are used. For the current issue, we have travelled
to Saudi Arabia, where engines for commercial vehicles are made fit again
to face the extreme conditions in the desert. The technical support and further
training of repair personnel is especially important in those regions and
MAHLE makes important contributions in this area.
Back in the home market of MAHLE: changes can be noticed in the workshop
market of EU countries. As an example, we show how German workshops
deal with implementing the block exemption regulation. Individual
workshops get fit for the competition by extending their range of services,
for instance, by boosting their orientation towards service, multi-branding
or by the decision for a supporting workshop system.
We hope you will enjoy reading our new MAHLE Aftermarket news!
Arnd Franz