Germany / Turkey – After recently becoming the first Level 4 autonomous electric bus to operate in Sweden, Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv Sanayii ve Tic. A.Ş, based in Bursa, has announced a new milestone: it is now the first bus manufacturer to receive Level 4 autonomous driving approval from Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA – Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), a division of the country’s transport ministry. This accreditation means the bus can operate “on a planned route without a driver in the cab,” significantly expanding Karsan’s autonomous e-bus operations beyond existing deployments in Italy,  Switzerland and Finland.

The Autonomous e-ATAK is scheduled to begin service on a 7-kilometre stretch of line 906 in Burgdorf, near Hannover, as part of the Albus Project, supported by the German Ministry of Transport. This advanced electric bus will cover 13 stops and negotiate 10 traffic light-controlled intersections. Cruising at a consistent 40 km/h, the e-ATAK demonstrates the operational maturity of Level 4 autonomous technology, powered by Flowride.ai software developed by Karsan’s U.S.-based technology partner, ADASTEC.