Otokar
Encyclopedia
Otokar, a sub-division of Koç Holding
, is a Turkish manufacturer of bus
es and military vehicles headquartered in Sakarya
, Turkey
.
manufacturing company under the license of Magirus Deutz
of Istanbul
. Otokar was noted for manufacturing the most modern buses and modern intercity vehicles for that period. During the 1970s, Otokar launched air-cooled
minibuses with Deutz AG
engines. During this period, Turkey's largest conglomerate
Koç Holding purchased the majority of Otokar shares
. Within its mass transportation strategies, in early 1980s, Otokar added the inner-city bus to its product line.
In the early 1980s Otokar began inner-city bus production and in mid-1980s Otokar manufactured the first Turkish armored vehicle as an armored car. In 1987, the Turkish Armed Forces had Otokar manufacture military Land Rover Defenders in Turkey in agreement with Land Rover
, UK.
In early 1990s, Otokar developed the Otokar Armored Personnel Carrier, Otokar Akrep, and Otokar Cobra
; Turkey's first 4x4
light-armored tactical
wheeled vehicles by combining its armor technology with its experience in military vehicles. In 1997, Otokar moved to its new plant in Sakarya, Arifiye.
In 2002 Otokar acquired a trailer
and semi-trailer production company from Koç Group Company of Istanbul Fruehauf A.S. Later in 2002, with its experience in public transportation Otokar developed the small bus called the Navigo which is marketed in Turkey with Sultan brand. In 2003, Otokar initiated a cooperation with Singapore Technologies Kinetics
(STK) for the new 8x8 tactical armored vehicle Otokar-Yavuz
. In 2005 Otokar widened its line of armored vehicles.
On March 30, 2007, Turkey's "Defence Industries Executive Committee", the joint, government-military, body on major defence industry projects and contracts, decided for the country's "Undersecretariat for Defence Industry" to launch negotiations with Otokar on the eventual contractual agreement to develop and produce Turkey's first indigenous tank. These negotiations began on April 6, 2007.
's in Istanbul and Ankara since its introduction in 70s. 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 are the most current vehicles from this series, which actually started long time ago under a different coding system. Initially the vehicles were named after their engines as Magirus
, but as the company built confidence among its customers, they started using their own brand. The last member of the series, M-2010 has an Iveco
engine and this marks the first time in this series where they abandoned Deutz
engines.
engine and the larger model using the Cummins
160 HP Euro IV diesel engine
. 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.
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.
license, produces several Land Rover variants and models. These include the
Land Rover Defender 90, Defender 110, and Defender 130 for use as utility
, ambulance
s, and rescue vehicles.
as well as other countries.
Koç Holding
Koç Holding A.Ş. is the top industrial conglomeratein Turkey. The Koç family, one of Turkey's wealthiest families, controls the company with its headquarter in Nakkaştepe, Istanbul...
, is a Turkish manufacturer of bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es and military vehicles headquartered in Sakarya
Adapazari
Adapazarı is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of Sakarya Province. The province itself was originally named Adapazarı as well. Adapazarı is a part of the densely populated region of the country, known as the Marmara Region. As of 2010, the city has a population of 560,876 ...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
History
Otokar began business in 1963 as Turkey's first intercity busBus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
manufacturing company under the license of Magirus Deutz
Magirus
Iveco Magirus AG is a truck manufacturer based in Ulm, Germany, founded by Conrad Dietrich Magirus . The company began manufacturing fire-fighting vehicles in 1864. In the late 1910s, it started the production of trucks and buses...
of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. Otokar was noted for manufacturing the most modern buses and modern intercity vehicles for that period. During the 1970s, Otokar launched air-cooled
Air-cooled engine
Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over hot parts of the engine to cool them.-Introduction:Most modern internal combustion engines are cooled by a closed circuit carrying liquid coolant through channels in the engine block and cylinder head, where the coolant absorbs heat,...
minibuses with Deutz AG
Deutz AG
Deutz AG is an engine manufacturer, based in Cologne, Germany.-History:The company was founded by Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, in 1864 as N. A...
engines. During this period, Turkey's largest conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
Koç Holding purchased the majority of Otokar shares
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
. Within its mass transportation strategies, in early 1980s, Otokar added the inner-city bus to its product line.
In the early 1980s Otokar began inner-city bus production and in mid-1980s Otokar manufactured the first Turkish armored vehicle as an armored car. In 1987, the Turkish Armed Forces had Otokar manufacture military Land Rover Defenders in Turkey in agreement with Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
, UK.
In early 1990s, Otokar developed the Otokar Armored Personnel Carrier, Otokar Akrep, and Otokar Cobra
Otokar Cobra
The Cobra is a wheeled armoured vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar, using some components from the American HMMWV. It was first delivered to the Turkish Army in 1997 and most recently, won a contract from a buyer for APV and 4X4 unarmored tactical vehicles.-Survivability:The monocoque steel...
; Turkey's first 4x4
Four Wheel Drive
The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...
light-armored tactical
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
wheeled vehicles by combining its armor technology with its experience in military vehicles. In 1997, Otokar moved to its new plant in Sakarya, Arifiye.
In 2002 Otokar acquired a trailer
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
and semi-trailer production company from Koç Group Company of Istanbul Fruehauf A.S. Later in 2002, with its experience in public transportation Otokar developed the small bus called the Navigo which is marketed in Turkey with Sultan brand. In 2003, Otokar initiated a cooperation with Singapore Technologies Kinetics
Singapore Technologies Kinetics
ST Kinetics is the land systems and specialty vehicles arm of ST Engineering. In 2000, ST Engineering acquired the Chartered Industries of Singapore through ST Automotive, a subsidiary of ST Engineering, and the new company was named ST Kinetics...
(STK) for the new 8x8 tactical armored vehicle Otokar-Yavuz
Terrex
The Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle is an armoured fighting vehicle developed by ST Engineering and Timoney Technology Ltd. Its Turkish variant, the Yavuz, is built by Turkish automaker Otokar together with ST Kinetics . It weighs an estimated 25 to 30 tonnes on an 8x8 wheeled chassis with modern...
. In 2005 Otokar widened its line of armored vehicles.
On March 30, 2007, Turkey's "Defence Industries Executive Committee", the joint, government-military, body on major defence industry projects and contracts, decided for the country's "Undersecretariat for Defence Industry" to launch negotiations with Otokar on the eventual contractual agreement to develop and produce Turkey's first indigenous tank. These negotiations began on April 6, 2007.
Minibuses
Otokar produces the famous M-series minibuses, which have had the largest percentage by far among all dolmusDolmuş
In Turkey and Turkish controlled Northern Cyprus, dolmuş are share taxis that run set routes within and between cities.Departing from the terminal only when a sufficient amount of passengers have boarded, their name is derived from Turkish for "apparently stuffed" for this reason.In some cities...
's in Istanbul and Ankara since its introduction in 70s. 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 are the most current vehicles from this series, which actually started long time ago under a different coding system. Initially the vehicles were named after their engines as Magirus
Magirus
Iveco Magirus AG is a truck manufacturer based in Ulm, Germany, founded by Conrad Dietrich Magirus . The company began manufacturing fire-fighting vehicles in 1864. In the late 1910s, it started the production of trucks and buses...
, but as the company built confidence among its customers, they started using their own brand. The last member of the series, M-2010 has an Iveco
Iveco
Iveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin...
engine and this marks the first time in this series where they abandoned Deutz
Deutz
There are multiple topics for Deutz* Deutz, Cologne, a former town, since 1888 a quarter of Cologne, Germany* Deutz AG, a diesel-engine manufacturer based in Cologne, Germany* Deutz-Fahr and Deutz-Allis, an agricultural equipment company....
engines.
Buses
Otokar manufacutures 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. The smaller buses using the DeutzDeutz AG
Deutz AG is an engine manufacturer, based in Cologne, Germany.-History:The company was founded by Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, in 1864 as N. A...
engine and the larger model using the Cummins
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is a Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission control and electrical power generation systems...
160 HP Euro IV diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
. The larger more luxurious models have a 45 litre refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
, hostess seat, announcement system, optional additional heater and optional double layer glass, DVD
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
, VCD
VCD
VCD is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:* VCD Athletic, semi-professional football team* Video CD* Voice command device* Value change dump * Vocal cord dysfunction* Visual Communication and Design...
, MP3 player and LCD TV systems.
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.
Trailers
Otokar manufactures a wide variety of trailers and containers for carrying textiles, refrigerated foods, heavy mechanical goods, hazardous materials, and motor vehicles.Utility
Otokar, under Land RoverLand Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
license, produces several Land Rover variants and models. These include the
Land Rover Defender 90, Defender 110, and Defender 130 for use as utility
Utility vehicle
Utility vehicle is used to describe a vehicle, generally motorized, that is designed for a specific task.-Sport utility vehicle:Vehicles similar to a station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis, usually with off-road capability....
, ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
s, and rescue vehicles.
Military
Otokar produces wheeled military vehicles for the Turkish Armed ForcesTurkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
as well as other countries.
- MİTÜP Altay - the Turkish national main battle tankMain battle tankA main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...
- Otokar / Land Rover - 40 variants of the Defender 90, 110, and 130.
- Otokar Armored Personnel Carrier - for use also as an ambulance or armored workshop.
- Otokar CobraOtokar CobraThe Cobra is a wheeled armoured vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar, using some components from the American HMMWV. It was first delivered to the Turkish Army in 1997 and most recently, won a contract from a buyer for APV and 4X4 unarmored tactical vehicles.-Survivability:The monocoque steel...
- a 4x4Four Wheel DriveThe Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:... - Otokar Akrep - a 4x4 special attack/defense vehicle.
- Otokar Discreetly Armored Station Wagon - looks like a standard Land Rover but with an armored body structure that meets the military standards.
- Otokar Engerek Special operations vehicle.
- Otokar KayaOtokar KayaKaya is designed and developed by Otokar as a mine-protected vehicle. It's based on the proven Unimog 500 chassis for high level cross country mobility. Otokar Kaya has two variants, one being the armoured personnel carrier with armoured driver's cabin in the front and armoured troop compartment...
Mine Protected Vehicle. - Otokar Kale Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle.
- Otokar-YavuzTerrexThe Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle is an armoured fighting vehicle developed by ST Engineering and Timoney Technology Ltd. Its Turkish variant, the Yavuz, is built by Turkish automaker Otokar together with ST Kinetics . It weighs an estimated 25 to 30 tonnes on an 8x8 wheeled chassis with modern...
- 8x8 tacticalMilitary tacticsMilitary tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
wheeled-armored vehicle. Its design is based on the AV-81 TerrexTerrexThe Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle is an armoured fighting vehicle developed by ST Engineering and Timoney Technology Ltd. Its Turkish variant, the Yavuz, is built by Turkish automaker Otokar together with ST Kinetics . It weighs an estimated 25 to 30 tonnes on an 8x8 wheeled chassis with modern...
. - Otokar ArmaOtokar ArmaArma is an amphibious tactical wheeled armoured vehicle family designed and developed by Otokar. The vehicle is a modular multi-wheel configurable with high level of ballistic and mine protection due to its high hardness monocoque steel hull.-Development:...
- 6x6 - 8x8 wheeled-armored vehicle. - Otokar Armored Internal Security Vehicle - for a usage in urbanUrban contemporaryUrban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
and residential areas with variants equipped as command vehicles, personnel carriers, explosive ordnance disposal vehicles, reconnaissanceReconnaissanceReconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
/ surveillanceSurveillanceSurveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
vehicles, and water cannon vehicles.