2021-04-08T17:45:00+03:00 Politics 2023-08-15T06:08:45+03:00

Ukrainian news

Ukrainian news

Kharkiv Buys Karsan Buses. The Next Step is to Manufacture Them in Yaroslavskyi’s Ecopolis HTZ

Kharkiv Buys Karsan Buses. The Next Step is to Manufacture Them in Yaroslavskyi’s Ecopolis HTZ

In Kharkiv, during the Mintrans Forum, which is dedicated to the development of municipal infrastructure, the local city government signed the memorandum of cooperation with the Turkish Karsan corporation. It refers to the purchase of buses produced by them, and in the future — organization of their assembly in Kharkiv. The document was signed by Okan Bas, General Director of Turkish Karsan, and Ihor Terekhov, Acting Mayor of Kharkiv.

Karsan’s General Director Okan Bas said in his speech, “It is manufactured exclusively by us. Not a prototype, not a model, but a real bus that functions and drives. Mr Terekhov had the opportunity to ride it when he visited us (in Turkey). After that visit, we decided to sign a memorandum of cooperation with Kharkiv city and possible collaboration in the future. Currently, we are considering the purchase agreement for 100 vehicles for Kharkiv, and we hope this cooperation will be successful. Then we will go further — we are talking about localization (organization of production in Kharkiv) — these are our intentions, we are in the process of discussing specifics at the moment,” a representative of the Turkish corporation told in detail.

Karsan is a Turkish engineering company that produces Peugeot, Fiat Ducato and Peugeot Boxer minibuses, various specialized vehicles for ambulances, police and taxi, cooperates with Hyundai on the production of light trucks, as well as with the famous Renault Trucks brand division on the manufacture of long-haul trucks and road trains, produces BredaMenarinibus buses.

Earlier, the secretary of the Kharkiv city council Ihor Terekhov and the Kharkiv Deputy Mayor on questions of infrastructure Yevgenii Vodovozov visited Turkey, “We got acquainted with the production of Karsan company buses, which has been producing vehicles for more than 50 years for 24 countries across the globe. Especial attention was paid to 6 and 8-meter models accommodating 22 and 58 seats, lowriding, which will be convenient to be used on Kharkiv streets,” Terekhov reported to the community about the progress of their visit.

Today, on April 8, the Acting Kharkiv Mayor hinted where Turkish buses' production would be localized. “I am extremely interested in the development of such powerful production facilities in Kharkiv,” Terekhov said in response to a journalist’s question. "We alreadKharkivabout Kharkiv tram, which will be produced at the site of Ecopolis HTZ, and we will also launch buses. Can you imagine how much lower the price of such a bus will be? After all, we will not have to pay import duties — it is profitable,“ Terekhov said.

According to the guests and speakers of the Mintrans Forum interviewed by journalists, the assembly production of Karsan buses most likely will be organized at Ukrainian businessman Alexander Yaroslavsky’ Ecopolis HTZ high-tech business park, where joint production of a Kharkiv tram is already being prepared together with partners from the Czech Republic.

As a result of his participation in the forum, Igor Terekhov also wrote the following about cooperation with Karsan, “Our main goal is to open a joint Ukrainian-Turkish production of passenger vehicles Kharkiv. These are new technologies, additional jobs and the development of the city’s economy as a whole. I sincerely believe that, despite all the difficulties, we will be able to carry out our plans.”