We Aim to Be Among the Top 5 in Europe in Bus Industry
Otokar, the leader of the Turkish bus market, introduced the new vehicles of its alternative fuel bus family and its autonomous bus at the press conference held in its Sakarya factory.
Otokar, which has reached 60 countries in bus exports and has subsidiaries in France, Romania and Italy, shared its growth targets in Europe at the meeting. The company, whose tens of thousands of buses carry millions of passengers all over the world, aims to continue its steady growth in the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Latvian markets in the coming period.
Otokar, one of the Koç Group companies, increases its claim in the bus sector with new vehicles. Otokar, which has the widest product range in Turkey with buses of different lengths from 6 meters to 21 meters, shared its growth targets in Europe at the press conference held in its factory in Sakarya and introduced the new vehicles of its alternative fuel bus family and its autonomous bus.
INCREASED ITS EXPORTS BY 84% IN THE FIRST 9 MONTHS COMPARED TO THE LAST YEAR
Stating that Otokar, which set out with the aim of doing what has not been done in Turkey and produced Turkey's first intercity bus, played an important role in our country's industrialization revolution, Otokar General Manager Serdar Görgüç said; "On the 100th anniversary of our Republic, we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of our company. We have managed to become Turkey's leading automotive company since 1963 and have continued to grow. It has been regularly included in the ISO 500 list, where the Istanbul Chamber of Industry announces Turkey's 500 largest industrial enterprises, for 55 years. We became one of 19 companies. In order to spread our success in our country to all over the world and to increase our added value to Turkey, we turned to exports and expanded into different markets. Fortunately, we have achieved many successes in 60 years. Today, we are a global brand that exports to 60 countries in the bus segment. "We became," he said.
Evaluating Otokar's first 9 months results, Görgüç said: “With the successes we achieved in global markets and the valuable contributions of all our stakeholders, we achieved 73 percent of our turnover from exports in 2022. We renewed our success in exports in the first 9 months of 2023. In the first 9 months of the year, we increased our exports by 84 percent in US Dollar terms compared to the previous year, reaching an export figure of 368 million USD. While we increased our turnover 1.5 times in TL terms, we achieved a 75 percent increase in US Dollars. "We have a very successful performance in the field of commercial vehicles, 71 percent of our turnover from vehicle sales, especially in Europe, came from commercial vehicles."
GROWTH IN GLOBAL MARKETS
Noting that Otokar is advancing its goals in the bus field under two main headings, Commercial Vehicles Deputy General Manager Kerem Erman listed these areas as growth in global markets and developing its alternative fuel product range. Emphasizing that the company has maintained its leading position as Turkey's leading bus brand for 14 years, Erman said, "This is a great source of pride for us. We produce the most preferred vehicles of our country. We have demonstrated a successful performance in the first 9 months and our bus sales numbers have already reached 2022." "We are determined to maintain our leadership in the market," he said.
Emphasizing that Otokar buses are in service in 60 countries, Erman talked about the growth targets in Europe as follows: “We continued to take strategic steps to strengthen our success in Europe, which is our target market. In order to be closer to our customers in line with our growth target in Europe in the bus field, after our subsidiary companies in France and Romania, we acquired Mauri Bus System, one of the most established companies in Italy with its 101-year history, and established our company "Otokar Italia". We continue to take firm steps forward and grow in Europe. We now aim to carry our successful growth across the continent to the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Latvia. Our goal in the medium term is to be among the top 5 players in Europe in the bus field.”
Emphasizing that Otokar is the largest exporter brand among domestically-owned bus brands, Erman said that they will soon become Europe's largest factory producing under one roof with the investments they made in the production areas in Sakarya Arifiye.
"DEMAND FOR ALTERNATIVE FUEL BUSES WILL INCREASE"
Kerem Erman stated that Otokar, which produces Turkey's first hybrid, first electric and first smart bus, detects public transportation trends and user needs in advance and develops appropriate solutions, and said: "We meet the needs of operators in Turkey and around the world in a cost-effective manner." We provide environmentally friendly and sustainable transportation solutions. We allocate 7 percent of our turnover to research and development activities. Our R&D expenditure in the last 10 years has reached 2.1 billion TL. With the aim of reducing global climate change and carbon footprint, we built our first electric bus in 2012. As of today, we have a wide family of urban electric buses ranging from 6 meters to 19 meters. Today's sales trends are towards alternative fuel buses. "The moment shows that demand is increasing."
While diesel bus sales have decreased in Europe in the last 4 years, the demand for alternative fuel buses has increased. While CNG bus sales increased by 49 percent, electric bus sales grew 3 times this increase. Emphasizing that Otokar has been implementing innovative technologies since the 2010s by foreseeing the dynamics of the market, Erman said regarding its goals in this direction; “Our goal is to expand our alternative fuel bus family and make our entire product range low and zero emission. Our inherently zero-emission buses are already ready to meet the needs of the European market, which is in transformation to minimize the negative effects of global climate change. This change will be critical in moving us towards our goal of being among the top 5 in Europe. We are increasing our claim in the market with the new members of our electric vehicle family that we introduced today. "We will continue to sell both diesel and alternative fuel vehicles in non-European markets," he said.
NEW KENT FAMILY
Otokar introduced its new KENT bus family at the meeting. Stating that KENT buses are currently used in many metropolitan cities, especially in Europe, with CNG, electric and diesel versions with different lengths from 10 meters to 21 meters, Otokar Commercial Vehicles Engineering Group Director Erdal Usta said the following about the new KENT: "One of our KENT buses that serve in different geographical and climatic conditions. We reflected the experience and knowledge we gained, user expectations and needs to the new KENT. We designed the new KENT family in accordance with alternative fuel technologies from the very first stage. Comfort is given priority in Yeni Kent. While the new driver's cabin increases driving pleasure with its driver controls, it differentiates the passengers' travel experience with new air ducts and new interior design.
In the new e-KENT, the electric member of the KENT family, the spaciousness of the interior stands out. The vehicle, which has NMC and LFP technologies and works with batteries with increased capacity of 450 kWh and above, offers a modular and spacious interior in the rear passenger compartment thanks to the removed engine room.
OTOKAR KENT HYDROGEN: OUTPUT IS ONLY WATER VAPOR
Otokar, which has accelerated its green transportation efforts in order to contribute to a sustainable future, introduced KENT Hydrogen, its first bus with hydrogen fuel cell technology. Providing information about the vehicles at the meeting, Erdal Usta said: “We consider KENT Hydrogen as a very important step in terms of showing the point Otokar has reached in product design and technology. KENT Hydrogen will provide great support to reducing carbon emissions, clean energy transformation and sustainable transportation policies.”
In KENT Hydrogen, hydrogen, a gas that can be obtained from renewable energy and water, combines with oxygen in the fuel cell on top of the vehicle to produce electricity. KENT Hydrogen, which works with the electricity produced, greatly reduces harmful emissions by producing only water vapor and makes a significant contribution to improving air quality in cities. The vehicle is also designed with plug-in hybrid technology, the fuel cell can charge itself while driving; This increases the range of the vehicle. The 12-meter low-floor vehicle promises a spacious journey with its high passenger capacity and large interior volume. KENT Hydrogen, which can be filled in less than 10 minutes, offers a range of over 600 km.
OTOKAR'S NEW ELECTRIC: e-TERRITO
TERRITO, a Class 1 vehicle developed by Otokar for the European market, was designed for short distance intercity, service and school bus areas in Europe. TERRITO, which won the German Design Award 2023, is now electric. The 13-meter-long e-TERRITO stands out with its optimum range, high performance, zero emissions, versatility and independent front suspensions. Erdal Usta emphasized that the vehicle is an ideal solution for the needs in the European market and said, "E-TERRITO, which provides superior roadholding with its batteries located on the vehicle floor, will be one of the rare service vehicles that can enter the zero-emission regions of Europe."
OTONOM e-CENTRO WILL PROVIDE SERVICE 24 HOURS, 7 DAYS
Otokar continues to bring new capabilities to its iconic microbus, the electric e-CENTRO, which has attracted attention since the day it was introduced. Featuring Level 4 autonomous driving technology, e-CENTRO can travel without the need for a driver. Developed to comply with traffic rules, the vehicle detects its position precisely. The vehicle, which can provide uninterrupted service at any time of the day or night, regardless of weather conditions, approaches the stops on the determined route, allowing passengers to get on and off without any problems. Developed in line with the expectations of municipalities and operators, the vehicle can serve in different climate and weather conditions. Able to provide uninterrupted transportation service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, e-CENTRO offers an ideal platform for the autonomous vehicles of the future.