Misplaced Pages

Otokar

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Otokar Kent) Turkish vehicle manufacturer Not to be confused with Autocar (disambiguation).

Otokar
Company typePublic Company
Traded asBİST: OTKAR
IndustryAutomotive & Defense
Founded1963; 61 years ago (1963)
HeadquartersArifiye, Sakarya, Turkey
Area servedEurope, Middle East, Central Asia, Africa
Key peopleAli Koç (Chairman)
Serdar Görgüç (CEO)
ProductsBuses
Trucks
Trailers
Military vehicles
RevenueIncrease $956 million (2023)
Operating incomeIncrease $87 million (2023)
Net incomeIncrease $71 million (2023)
Total assetsIncrease $1.13 billion (2023)
Total equityIncrease $291 million (2023)
Number of employees3580 (2023)
ParentKoç Holding
SubsidiariesOtokar Europe SAS (France)
Otokar Land Systems LLC (UAE)
Otokar Europe Filiala Bucuresti SRL (Romania)
Otokar Central Asia Limited (Kazakhstan)
Websiteotokar.com.tr

Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi A.Ş., also known simply as Otokar, is a Turkish bus and military vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Sakarya, Turkey. Otokar is a subsidiary of Koç Holding.

History

Otokar was founded in 1963 as Turkey's first bus manufacturing company under the license of Magirus-Deutz. The company was noted for manufacturing the most modern buses and modern intercity vehicles for that period. In the early 1980s, Otokar started production of Deutz-powered vehicles with local components. During this period, Turkey's largest conglomerate, Koç Holding, purchased major share of Otokar. Within its public transportation strategies in the early 1980s, the company added intercity bus to its lineup.

In the mid-1980s, Otokar manufactured the first Turkish armoured vehicle as an armoured car by acquiring the manufacturing license of Jaguar Land Rover. In 1987, the Turkish Armed Forces ordered Otokar to manufacture military Land Rover Defender in Turkey in cooperation with Land Rover.

In the early 1990s, Otokar developed the Otokar Armoured Personnel Carrier, Otokar Akrep and Otokar Cobra which was Turkey's first 4x4 light-armoured tactical wheeled vehicle in which Otokar combined its armour technology with the experience in military vehicles. In 1997, the company moved to its new manufacturing facilities in Sakarya, Arifiye.

In 2002, Otokar acquired a trailer and semi-trailer production company from Koç Group Company of Istanbul Fruehauf A.Ş. Later in 2002, with its experience in public transportation, Otokar developed the Navigo small bus which is marketed in Turkey with the Sultan brand. In 2003, Otokar initiated cooperation with Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK) for the new 8x8 tactical armoured vehicle Otokar Yavuz. In 2005 Otokar expanded its line of armoured vehicles.

In 2007, the Subsecretary for Defence Industries of Turkey launched negotiations with Otokar on the eventual contractual agreement to develop and produce Turkey's first national tank.

In 2011, Otokar achieved 890,000,000 TL turnover, 72% higher than 2010. Mostly due to civil products, sales were extended to European countries, leading to the establishment of the Otokar European office. The company introduced the Arma 8x8 ACV, Arma 6x6 EOD, Mizrak RCT and exhibited Altay MBT's early prototype in 2011.

As of 2019, Otokar products are actively used in 60 countries with 300 support and sales points.

Vehicles

Minibuses

Otokar Centro minibus at the 2010 FIAA in Madrid, Spain.
Centro

Otokar produces the famous Deutz F4L912-powered, 80S minibuses based on the TAM 80T50 light truck. They have held the largest percentage by far among all dolmuşes (share taxis) in Istanbul and Ankara since their introduction in the 1970s. These 14-seat minibuses are particularly known for their cubic shape, durability, long life expectancy, and low operation costs. M-2000, M-3000, and M-2010 were the latest models from this series, which began some time ago under a different coding system. Initially, the vehicles were named Magirus after their engines, but as the company built confidence among its customers, the company started using their own brand name. The last member of the series, M-2010 has an Iveco engine, the first time Deutz engines were abandoned in this series.

Autonomous minibus e-Centro

Buses

Otokar Territo U
Otokar Navigo at the 2008 FIAA in Madrid
Otokar Kent C
Otokar Vectio at the Busworld 2007 exhibition in Kortrijk, Belgium
Navigo

Otokar manufactures several buses for civilian mass transit use. Its line of Navigo buses range from the Navigo 125L with 25 seats and 6.3 m in length to the Navigo 160SE with 31 seats at 7.1 m in length. All small bus models use a 4.4L Cummins 145 PS Euro 6 diesel engine. The Navigo is marketed as the Sultan in Turkey. The larger, more luxurious models have a 45-litre refrigerator, hostess seat, announcement system, optional additional heater and optional double-layer glass, DVD, VCD, MP3 player and LCD TV systems.

Doruk and Vectio

Since April 2007, Otokar has also started to manufacture a new 9-meter, rear-engined bus called Doruk in Turkey and Vectio in other markets.

Otokar is the bus supplier for Inter Trust of Bulgaria.

In February 2020, Otokar signed an agreement with Iveco Bus for production of IVECO Buses in Turkey.

Kent

Kent is the low floor full-size bus line-up of Otokar used by many operators.

Trailers and superstructures

Otokar manufactures a wide variety of trailers and superstructures for carrying textiles, refrigerated foods, heavy mechanical goods, hazardous materials, and motor vehicles.

Utility

Otokar, under the Land Rover license, produced several Land Rover variants and models until 2016. These include the Land Rover Defender 90, Defender 110, and Defender 130 for use as utility, ambulance, and rescue vehicles.

Military

Otokar Yavuz

Otokar produces wheeled military vehicles for the Turkish Armed Forces as well as other countries.

Former

  • Otokar 80S5.5 (1990–2000)
  • Otokar M-2000 (2000–2010)
  • Otokar M-3000 (2008–2011)
  • Otokar M-2010 (2009–2014)
  • Land Rover Defender (1984–2016)

See also

References

  1. "2023 Annual Report". kap.org.tr. Public Information Domain. 20 February 2020.
  2. (in Turkish) Otokar'dan rekor büyüme! Archived 2012-06-22 at the Wayback Machine, Otokar, Retrieved 19 February 2012
  3. "ARMA is Otokar's new generation modular multi-wheel configuration armoured vehicle with superior tactical and technical characteristics". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  4. "Otokar Armored Internal Security Vehicle has a specially designed body for usage in urban and residential areas, the number of the doors provides quick and easy access to the vehicle, and the smooth side body design makes it almost impossible to climb on the vehicle". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  5. "Otokar Armoured Patrol Vehicle is a versatile 4x4 armored vehicle adaptable to a wide range of military and security roles". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  6. KUNT, Rasim Anıl (23 May 2017). "ZPT". DefenceTurk (in Turkish). Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  7. "Akrep is a special attack/defense vehicle developed on well proven mechanical parts and day/night vision and aiming systems". Otokar. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  8. Foss, Christopher F. (2 May 2019). "IDEF 2019: Otokar displays Akrep IIe electric armoured vehicle". Jane's 360. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  9. "Cobra Light Armoured Vehicle". Army Technology. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  10. "Cobra - Light Armoured Vehicles - Jane's Land Forces". Jane's Information Group. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
  11. "Cobra II". Otokar. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  12. "Discreetly Armored Station Wagon, which looks like a standard vehicle, actually has an armored body structure that meets the military standards as well as superior road and cross country capabilities". Otokar. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  13. "Otokar: Land Rover 110 Engerek – Özel Harekat Aracı". Savunma Sanayii Müsteşarlığı. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. "KALE is specially designed and developed as a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Personnel Carrier". Otokar. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  15. "TULPAR is designed as a multi-purpose vehicle platform with its outmatch ballistic and mine protection to support new generation main battle tanks in battlefield and to provide fire support for infantry". Otokar. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  16. "URAL, a new armoured personnel carrier with a versatile modular platform and an innovative feature set, that fulfils the requirements of even the most demanding missions". Otokar. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  17. "Otokar manufactures Land Rover Defender models under Land Rover-UK license in parallel with customer needs". Otokar. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  18. "Otokar: Yavuz Zırhlı Personel Taşıyıcı". Savunma Sanayii Müsteşarlığı. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  19. "Yavuz". Military-today.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.

Sources

Koç family
Parents
  • Vehbi Koç: 1901–1996
  • Sadberk Koç: 1908–1973
Children
Notable grandchildren
Major companies
Social and cultural institutions
Turkey Automotive industry in Turkey
Domestic manufacturers
Turkish-foreign joint ventures
Foreign companies
Defunct manufacturers
Components
Related topics
Turkey BIST 100 companies of Turkey
Categories: