Speaking with Deniz Cetin, Chief Commercial Officer at Karsan Automotive & Board Member at Group Companies at Cenex (2023), T&BB was informed that Karsan has bid on autonomous electric bus contracts (tenders) in Spain, Israel, Qatar and Canada. Deniz confirmed that Karsan recently delivered an autonomous bus to Istanbul which comes off the back of two successful autonomous bus trials in Norway and the USA.

The eight-seater vehicle, which accommodates seven passengers and a safety officer, uses 42Dot’s in-house self-driving integrated platform ‘Tap’.

The project, known as ‘Mach2’, aims to integrate Level 4 autonomous Renault minibuses, without onboard supervision, into the city’s public transport network, which is operated by Keolis.

Berjaya China Motor Sdn Bhd, the exclusive distributor in Malaysia of light vans and minibuses for China’s Beiqi Foton Motor Company.

ABC Companies, the exclusive importer and distributor of Van Hool coaches, works with OEM chassis and body builders in the USA to deliver custom products to operators.

Where other bus and coach builders have suffered during the past two years of pandemic restrictions on mobility and leisure, Iles Bus UK Ltd has thrived, thanks to a canny alteration to its product strategy. 

Ford Motor Company do Brasil Ltda has announced plans to assemble its Transit light commercial vehicle range in neighbouring Uruguay, starting next year.

The BRA14m (USD2.8m) deal, which was first announced last November, was finalised in February this year.