THE INTERNATIONAL REPORT
over by a Turkish government office during the summer because of unpaid debts by the holding company. The gvernment has resumed production of military vehicles but is looking for a new owner to invest in BMC. Large numbers of its Procity low-floor buses were seen in service in Istanbul. TCV is a young company established by two former executives of Temsa. In a most unusual arrangement, they assemble their Karat low-floor city buses with their own workforce in part of MAN’s factory in Ankara. They use MAN engines and axles, but they are nevertheless direct competitors! Guleryuz is an established company that makes an extensive range of city and suburban buses, as well as coaches. They are the only company in Turkey currently building double-deck buses, either with open tops for city sightseeing or with Above top: The new Visigo is the largest coach closed tops. by Isuzu built so far. Tezeller is yet another company that Other companies has branched out from mid-sized coaches Above: Karsan will put the CXL midibus into production in the second quarter. to full size low-floor city buses. The There are other bus builders in Turkey, brand has an unusual but distinctive but they did not exhibit at Busworld in styling, which certainly stands out from Kortrijk nor the Comvex exhibition in competitors on the streets of Istanbul. Istanbul. The largest is BMC, which also builds vans, trucks Temsa has enjoyed success with its Safari HD (High Deck) coach. Temsa has sold large quantities to intercity operators in Turkey. There are plans to develop a model with an even higher deck to provide greater luggage capacity. Temsa already supplies 30- and 35foot midicoaches to North America and is soon to introduce its 45-foot model. The company believes it is the only manufacturer able to offer products in all three of these popular segments in the North American market. Temsa also developed a full low-floor city bus, the Avenue, with diesel or CNG engines that are mounted vertically and offset in line at the rear. This arrangement is popular in Turkey because it enables the bus to have three double-width doors, facilitating faster entry and exit for passengers. Temsa has supplied the Avenue to Istanbul and several other Turkish cities. It’s also delivering a large contract to Rome.
and military vehicles. BMC stopped manufacturing a few months ago. BMC and a few other subsidiaries of the parent company were taken
Doug Jack is with Transport Resources in the United Kingdom.
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