The sixth edition of Busworld Turkey is, like all the previous editions, being organised by Busworld International and its partner, HKF Trade Fairs. The exhibition will be held for four days, from 14 to 17 April in halls 9, 10 and 11 of the Istanbul Expo Center, close to the main Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.
The first Busworld exhibition was organized in Kortrijk, Belgium in 1971 and has achieved an international recognition by the bus and coach industry as being the oldest and most respected trade show in the industry. The experienced Busworld team started organising Busworld Turkey in 2004, together with the Turkish trade fair organiser HKF Trade Fairs, a splendid combination resulting in a growing international B2B exhibition for bus and coach. On top of this, Busworld Turkey holds the internationally accepted benchmark for quality in trade fairs and exhibitions, it has an UFI Approved Event Certificate.
During the last edition (2014), the exhibition featured 248 companies of which 170 were local (Turkish) and 78 were from abroad, coming from 26 different countries. These exhibitors welcomed 12.425 professional visitors of whom 1.714 came from overseas, along with 47 members of foreign press and media.
Like every Busworld exhibition, potential exhibitors are all companies involved in the bus and coach industry, such as: coach – bus – minibus manufacturers and bodybuilders, spare parts, accessories, fuel, equipment, insurance coverage, information technologies, tourism, banks and all other services and products designed for the coach and bus industries.
Busworld works very actively on inviting visitors such as decision makers from all activities in bus or coach or related industries, as well as relevant transport authorities and professional media.
The Turkish bus and coach market: adoption of the Euro VI emission limits
The exhibition showcases one of the most important countries in the manufacture of buses and coaches, and all their many components and services. Sales of buses and midi buses to the home market rose substantially in 2015, compared with the previous year. Turkey is making progress in renewing city bus fleets, and the intercity express coach market remains strong. The country relies heavily on buses and coaches for public transport.
Turkey is also a major exporter of buses and coaches. Last year, according to OSD, the Turkish manufacturers trade association, there were exports of a record 44,440 buses and coaches of all sizes, valued at USD1.15 billion! That is a very impressive performance and it does not include many components and accessories delivered by the Turkish supply industry to manufacturers and markets outside Turkey.
The Turkish manufacturing industry is now in a very strong position. Turkish companies have built up regular customer bases in so many countries that they are well protected from downturns. While some markets in the Middle East are having serious problems, neighbouring Iran is no longer subject to sanctions, and that must surely be a great opportunity for trade between the two countries.
It is a very important time for the Turkish manufacturing industry. The country has adopted Euro VI emission limits for all new vehicles registered from 1 January 2016. Many of the manufacturers were already able to supply Euro VI models because of deliveries to customers in the European Union. For others, Busworld Turkey will be an important kick-off.
Turkey supplies many other markets in North Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia. Many of them are working to earlier emission limits, in some cases because they do not have the necessary quality of fuel. This is usually because refineries are unable or unwilling to produce the ultra low sulphur diesel that the latest generation of engines require. The Turkish industry is sufficiently flexible that it can provide vehicles with power units from Euro 2 onwards.
Turkey is heavily dependent on buses for urban transport and coaches for intercity travel. Although diesel is the dominant fuel, there is considerable interest in natural gas which is readily available in Turkey.
The large and progressive manufacturing industry is supported by a wide variety of component and accessory suppliers. Many of them work to high standards of quality at competitive prices. Busworld Turkey is an excellent showroom for their products and services.