The issue features an interview with Patrick Oosterveld of VinFast, who outlines the company's pathway into the European bus market, focusing on industrial strategy, partnerships and product positioning. Two analytical articles explore structural trends in the manufacturing landscape. The first examines the evolving configuration of European bus production, marked by plant reorganisations and new entrants. The second provides an inside look at the MCV plant producing the Volvo 7900 and 8900 electric buses.
The company closed 2024 with a turnover of USD 962 million, with 64% of revenues coming from exports, confirming its role as both a leading Turkish bus manufacturer - a position it has held for 16 consecutive years - and an increasingly significant player in Europe. More than 68,000 Otokar buses are now in operation in over 60 countries, with Spain, France, and Italy representing its largest European markets.
Joseph Besset, born in 1890, was an industrial coachbuilder who revolutionized the coach industry by presenting the first European coach with a self-supporting structure in 1938.