Mercedes Turkey to import cars in Turkish liras

Emre Özpeynirci ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Süer Sülün of Mercedes-Benz Turkey poses for cameras in this file photo. Hürriyet photo

Since April 1, Mercedes Benz Turkey has been paying in Turkish Liras instead of euros for cars imported from its German headquarters. The company will also sell its cars in the Turkish market for a lira price tag.

“Last year we bought 250 million Euros worth of Mercedes cars from Germany and expect the same this year. This means this year we will send at least 600 million liras to Germany,” said Mercedes-Benz Turkey Marketing and Sales Director Süer Sülün to daily Hürriyet. According to Sülün, the company’s total turnover was 2.5 billion euros.

“In time we expect to increase this amount to 6 million liras. By switching to the lira we hope to finance the country’s current account deficit,” he added.

Mercedes Turkey had been discussing the switch to the lira with its German headquarters since December.
“Now we have Daimler, which also conducts its business in liras,” said Sülün explaining that Daimler’s decision demonstrates that company’s belief in the strength of the lira. In the past two years Mercedes has made similar decisions regarding the Russian ruble and the Mexican peso.