Avenue EV, drawing attention with its environmental and innovative features, was launched with the participation of the Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Dr. Faruk Özlü, Sabancı Holding CEO Mr. Zafer Kurtul, Turkish Armed Forces Foundation General Manager Mr. Orhan Akbaş, Aselsan Vice Chairman Mr. Murat Üçüncü, Sabancı Holding Industry Group Head Mr. Mehmet Hacıkamiloğlu, Temsa General Manager Mr. Dinçer Çelik, General Manager of Aselsan Dr. Faik Eken and Aselsan Deputy Chief Executive Mr. Y. Suat Bengür.

Fully Charged in 8 Minutes 

Developed from an environmental point of view by taking global requirements into consideration, Avenue EV operates with a sustainable source of energy instead of fossil fuel. With the help of its fast charging feature of reaching full charge capacity in 8 minutes, it provides continuous service with brief charges during stops. This environmentally friendly high performance bus with an electric traction system and zero carbon emissions is at the same time quiet, comfortable and equipped with state-of-the-art-technology. The passenger cabins offer comfortable travel facilities in both cold and hot weather conditions as well as the option of in-car internet and data connection. Avenue EV is capable of hosting 35 seated, 52 standing and 1 wheelchair passengers. With its large interior volume, Avenue EV is capable of providing high performance services without requiring maintenance for long durations due to the 100 percent domestic, highly efficient and lightweight electric traction system developed by Aselsan. The vehicle is capable of driving for 50-70 km with a single charge. 

Temsa is our Source of Pride 

Sabancı Holding CEO Mr. Zafer Kurtul expressed the following at the press conference: “We are proud that the innovative and comfortable Temsa brand vehicles developed by Turkish engineers are being exported to 66 different countries. The Temsa Bus R&D center, which is amongst the best practices of the 243 R&D centers located in Turkey, is also a great source of pride for the Sabancı Group. Innovation and R&D are the two main issues to which we attach great importance as the Sabancı Group. Our greatest priority is to add value to our country, our environment, our business partners and to our employees in every field we work in. With this understanding, we are proud to cooperate with all the companies with the same approach. The one hundred percent domestic Avenue EV developed through the joint efforts of Temsa and Aselsan is a high-tech, clean and quiet inner-city public transportation solution that is suitable for modern cities. This bus developed completely by Turkish engineers attracts attention with its high efficiency, lightweight and 100 percent domestic traction system. This fruitful cooperation makes us very proud.” 

Aselsan Achieves the Unattainable in Turkey 

Aselsan General Manager Dr. Faik Eken said, “As Aselsan, we have always focused on achieving what is regarded as unachievable in Turkey since the very first day of our establishment 41 years ago. With the project we launched with the support of TÜBİTAK TEYDEB in 2015, our Temsa and Aselsan teams developed an indigenous bus capable of covering the urban public transportation requirements of the municipalities. As Aselsan, we indigenously designed the electric engine, motor drive unit, vehicle electronic control unit, drive designator unit, power control units, battery management system with our over 10 domestic sub-contractors and had the opportunity to manufacture them through our domestic resources. For this bus that we developed, there is a technically fast charging facility for the batteries and therefore the buses are capable of fully charging at the stops on their route for brief durations. This project serves as an important example as it indicates that Turkey is capable of developing its own electric vehicles, buses and automobiles.”

Our Effort Geared Toward Increasing Temsa’s Exports to 80% 

Sabancı Holding Industry Group Head Mr. Mehmet Hacıkamiloğlu told the participants that they were competing with the global companies as the industry group and continued, “We are bringing our products together with our customers from Indonesia to America. And we are doing this with the sense of a national task and responsibility because we have faith and trust in Turkey. We name ourselves as Turkey’s Sabancı. We are fully aware of the fact that competition in Turkey could be achieved merely through added value and we are working for it. We invest $ 400 million every year. We are proud of introducing our product which is completely the achievement of Turkish engineers to our clients. We hope that this product can find its place in the global markets and raise Temsa’s flag to even higher levels. We will put all our efforts toward increasing Temsa’s current rate of exports that is around 50% to 80% in the upcoming period. And we will achieve this through the value-added products such as the product we launched here today.” 

Aselsan and Temsa Cooperation Heralds the Beginning of a New Era 

“I am greatly pleased and proud to stand here as the General Manager of a company achieving the production of the first hundred percent domestic electric bus and thus heralding the beginning of a new era in the Turkish automotive industry,” said Temsa General Manager Mr. Dinçer Çelik in the beginning of his remark and continued, “We developed the high performance and new generation Avenue EV with the leading organization of the Turkish Defense Industry Aselsan. The two leading companies worked in great harmony throughout this process. This collaboration will not be limited to the manufacturing of the electric bus; we will continue to develop environmental friendly products for a sustainable world as well”. Mr. Çelik extended information on the prominent features of the Avenue EV.

Avenue EV will Bring a Breath of Fresh Air to the Cities

Mr. Dinçer Çelik noted the following on the features of the product: “More environmental friendly means of transportation are gaining more importance as the cities are becoming more crowded and mass transportation demands are increasing. We are launching our innovative and environmental friendly products without slowing down in order to achieve a cleaner world. The Avenue EV we introduced here today is a high performance, efficient and environmental friendly electric bus we jointly developed with Aselsan. The most prominent feature of the Avenue EV - manufactured through hundred percent domestic technology - making it different from its rivals is its fast charging capability in such a brief duration such as 8 minutes and its ability to cover long distances. With the help of its simple design and low maintenance requirements, the bus is capable of achieving high performance under all types of road conditions. It is a quiet, comfortable and efficient bus which is able to host more passengers thanks to its larger interior volume. I am proud to introduce you this product which will bring a breath of fresh air to the cities by reducing both the white noise and environmental pollution.”

Aselsan Developed a Domestic Electric Traction System within the Scope of the Project

Aselsan Executive Vice President and Transportation Security Directorate of Energy Traffic Automation and Health Systems (UGES) Sector President Mr. Y. Suat Bengür, presented to the guests the details of the new product multi-phase motor and motor drive, vehicle control computer, High Power Distribution Unit DC / DC converter units. Mr. Bengür expressed his satisfaction with the harmony established during the project carried out with Temsa and stated that they plan to work together on other projects where Aselsan traction systems will be used.