Karsan ( tr, Karsan Otomotiv Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş. English: Karsan Automotive Industry and Trade Joint-Stock Company) is a Turkish

commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to ...

s manufacturer, based in Akçalar, Nilüfer,

Bursa Province Bursa Province ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the nor ...

. "Karsan" is an acronym for "Karoseri Sanayii" (English: Carrosserie/Bodyworks Industry)

History

Karsan was founded in 1966 in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, to produce

light commercial vehicles A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Cana ...

. Koç Group assumed management control of the company between 1979-1998. Later on Kıraça Group took over the company in 1998 by acquiring the majority of the shares under the leadership of İnan Kıraç. Karsan, owned by 100% Turkish capital, produces and sells

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

light commercial vehicles under a licensing agreement with the French manufacturer, as well as the Fiat Ducato and its rebadged version the

Peugeot Boxer Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

. In addition to these, Karsan produces and sells special vehicles such as ambulances, taxis, patrol vehicles and 4x4s. Karsan also has cooperations with

Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai ...

for light trucks manufacture, with

Renault Trucks Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001. From its beginnings in 1978 to 2002, the comp ...

for long-distance trailer-trucks and with

BredaMenarinibus BredaMenarinibus S.p.A. was a bus manufacturer based in Bologna, Italy. The company was established in 1989 through the merger of Bredabus, the bus and coach divisions of Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie, heir of the consortium Inbus (Industrie Aut ...

for bus manufacture. Karsan's V-1 was one of three finalists, alongside the

Ford Transit Connect The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van sold by Ford since 2002. Developed by Ford of Europe, the model line replaced sedan-based vans ( Ford Escort and Ford Courier vans) with a dedicated commercial vehicle platform. The model lin ...

and

Nissan NV200 The Nissan NV200 is a light commercial and leisure activity, 4/5-door van designed and produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 2009. Overview The vehicle was previewed as the NV200 Concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, followed by ...

, for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Taxi of Tomorrow. The Nissan NV200 was announced the winning model on May 3, 2011. Karsan V-1 At the end of 2010, the J9 Premier minibus was replaced with the

Karsan J10 The Karsan J10 is a minibus produced by the Turkish manufacturer Karsan from 2010 to 2015. Overview It is the successor of the Karsan J9 Premier that was based on the platform of the 1980s' Peugeot J9. It is available in three capacity versio ...

, available in three body versions- with 14, 17 or 20 seats, and powered by a Euro 4 common rail 2,3 liter diesel engine of Iveco origin. At the end of 2013, the J10 minibus has been replaced by the Karsan Jest. In December 2018 the company acquired the 70% of

Industria Italiana Autobus BredaMenarinibus S.p.A. was a bus manufacturer based in Bologna, Italy. The company was established in 1989 through the merger of Bredabus, the bus and coach divisions of Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie, heir of the consortium Inbus (Industrie Aut ...

through a capital increase. The following month, after a meeting with Ministry of Economic Development, the participation in IIA fell to 20%.

Current models

Karsan Jest electric IAA 2016 (1) Travelarz

Peugeot Partner Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

(1997–present) *

(2001–unknown) * Fiat Ducato (2001–present) *Hyundai Truck (2007–present) *

Citroën Berlingo The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner are a range of multi-purpose vehicles produced by the PSA Group and later by Stellantis. They are sold both as panel vans for use as commercial vehicles and as a passenger variant with rear seats and w ...

(2008–present) *BredaMenarinibus Vivacity (2010–present) *BredaMenarinibus Avancity (2010–present) * Karsan V-1 (prototype) * Karsan Jest (2013–present) *Karsan Atak (2014–present) *Karsan Star (2014–present) *

Hyundai H350 The Hyundai H350, also known as the Hyundai Solati in South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, and Hyundai Solati H350 in Mexico, is a light commercial 5-door van manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai. The vehicle was introduced at the ...

(2015–present) *Renault Megane IV Sedan (2022-to commence)

Former models

Peugeot J9 The Peugeot J9 is a van manufactured by Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started ...

(1981–2006) * Karsan J9 Premier (2006–2010) *

Renault Premium The Renault Premium is a heavy-duty truck that was produced by the French Manufacturer Renault Véhicules Industriels and later Renault Trucks (also part of Renault, now Volvo) from 1996 to 2013. It was sold alongside the Renault Magnum as a sl ...

(2008–2013) * Renault Kerax (2009–2013) *

(2010–2015)

Karsan Worldwide

File:Karsan Jestronic Kleinbusse.jpg, Karsan Jestronic in Switzerland File:Микроавтобус Karsan JEST+ в Литве.jpg, Karsan JEST in Lithuania File:Karsan Star - Nav’Espace (Vasco de Gama, Sainte-Hélène-du-Lac) - Flickr - Lev. Anthony.jpg, Karsan Star - in France File:Karsan e-Jest.jpg, Karsan e-Jest in Poland File:916-os busz (NCV-294).jpg, Karsan Atak in Hungary File:KarsanJestGalati.jpg, Karsan Jest in Romania File:Graz, Schienenersatzverkehr für Schlossbergbahn, 1.jpeg, Karsan Jest in Austria File:Istanbul minibus 04.jpg, Karsan in Istanbul, Turkiye

References

External links