05 March 2020

Otokar Exhibited Five Vehicles At Busworld Turkey

Otokar Exhibited Five Vehicles At Busworld Turkey
 Otokar, the leader of the Turkish bus market for 11 years, showcased five buses at Busworld Turkey 2020. As Turkey’s industry pioneer of electric and alternative-fueled buses, Otokar also exhibited its new 12-meter electric bus.
 
Otokar, a Koç Group company, promoted its vehicles developed for public and tourism transportation to the visitors and users during Busworld Turkey 2020. The company, providing millions of passengers comfortable and safe journeys with more than 40,000 buses in 50 countries, including Turkey as well as Spain, Germany, France, and Belgium to name a few, showcased five buses from its wide product range during the three-day exhibition.
 
“OUR LEADERSHIP RECONFIRMED FOR THE 11TH TIME”
H. Basri Akgül, Assistant General Manager, Otokar spoke about the company’s position in Turkey and international markets at a press conference at Istanbul Expo Center. Akgül noted that the vehicles developed and manufactured with 57 years of experience for public, tourism and personnel transportation are used in 50 countries, “With our engineering capabilities, wide product range and solutions tailored to our customers’ needs, we were able to maintain our position in the market in 2019 as Turkey’s most preferred bus brand. We remained focused on long-term goals without being affected by short-term volatilities despite the uncertainties across the globe and tightening in the domestic market. We determined our strategy as increasing our export volume and becoming a global brand. We continue to take bold steps while maintaining our sustainable growth. Otokar’s 2019 revenues reached TL 2.4 billion with 45 percent increase. Our export volume increased by 78 percent to $340 million as the share of exports in total revenues reached 80 percent.”
 
Akgül added that the 7-10m small and medium bus and the 12-18m public transportation bus segments in which Otokar operates shrank more than 50 percent in domestic market, “Despite this level of contraction in Turkish bus market, we still closed the year as the leader of our respective segments in total. One out of every three buses sold in Turkey was Otokar branded. With this success, our market leadership has been reconfirmed for the 11th time.”
 
“ONE OUT OF EVERY THREE BUSES SOLD IN TURKEY BEARS THE OTOKAR BRAND”
Regarding 2019 developments, Akgül said “In 2019 we developed Sultan Comfort –known as Navigo T in export markets- as a versatile vehicle capable of three functions in one for Turkish market. The new vehicle became very popular among tourism, school and personnel shuttle operators. 8,5 meter bus Sultan Mega (known as Navigo T), standing out with its high passenger and luggage capacity, also became the first choice of users in the tourism sector. Otokar ended 2019 as the leader of the small and medium-sized bus market, with one out of every three buses sold in this segment in Turkey also bearing the Otokar brand. In addition to tourism and personnel transportation, we also reinforced the public transport fleets of municipalities across Turkey with our innovative, ecofriendly vehicles. Otokar increased its share in the 12-18m public transportation bus market by 9 points.”
 
“OUR BUS PARK IN EUROPE IS GROWING RAPIDLY”
Basri Akgül pointed out that Otokar’s success in the domestic market extends beyond borders as the company increased its bus export volume by 29 percent with Otokar buses currently serving millions of passengers in 50 countries, “In 2019, we continued to represent our country with great success in international markets. Otokar’s bus product park kept growing in a number of countries, especially in Malta, Romania, Italy, Serbia as well as France, which are among our target markets in Europe. The total vehicle park in France alone has now exceeded 2,200 units. We received a fourth order from Malta, where Otokar buses are used widely, bringing the total number of our buses in Malta to over 240. We also completed the deliveries of Bucharest Municipality’s order last year.”
 
R&D SPENDING IN 2019 REACHED TL 136 MILLION
Akgül also spoke about Otokar’s pioneering work in product design and development, and the important achievements in alternative-fueled vehicles, “As we implement our growth strategy in global markets, we also integrate the latest technologies and applications into our products. In 2019, our R&D spending amounted to TL 136 million. Otokar’s R&D spending in the last 10 years exce