Popular Charter Bus Manufacturers: TEMSA
TEMSA is a Turkish motorcoach and light truck manufacturer based in the city of Adana. With more than 50 years of experience, TEMSA has built a strong reputation as a producer of high-quality commuter and tour buses in 66 countries around the world. TEMSA focuses on developing smart mobility solutions, including sustainable energy processes and eco-friendly transportation.
Along with its coach buses and light trucks, TEMSA has developed city and intercity models of buses that are used throughout cities in Turkey and countries in Western Europe. TEMSA’s vehicles make up around 30% of the buses on the road in Turkey, about 7% in Europe, and 10% in the United States. The company’s impeccable reputation has also made TEMSA a popular new contender in the U.S. bus market in the last decade, bringing more than 1,000 of its buses on U.S. roads.
TEMSA buses mix durability and comfort for city, intercity, and tour transportation to keep drivers and passengers happy. The company’s fleet includes models with stainless steel exteriors, advanced safety systems, low fuel consumption engines, leather and fabric interiors, personal climate controls, and optional driver sleeping cabins.
HISTORY of TEMSA
TEMSA didn’t actually start out as a bus producer. The company was established in 1968 by Sabancı Holding to manufacture steel for the construction industry. After a few years of supplying steel, TEMSA ventured into the transportation industry in the 1980s with a Mitsubishi Motors distribution partnership. Since 2000, TEMSA has developed several models of bus to introduce into export markets in Europe and North America. TEMSA took pride in using domestically-made parts from Turkish companies for years but began to incorporate European engines, transmissions, and axles to meet important emission standards in export markets.
With a history that spans more than 50 years, TEMSA’s had quite a few major highlights. Here are just a few:
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1968
TEMSA was founded by the Sabancı family (Sabancı Holding) as a steel supplier for construction companies.
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1984
Manufacturing of light trucks and coach buses began with a licensing and distribution agreement with Mitsubishi Motors.
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1987
Service vehicle manufacturing began at the company’s 510,000 square-meter facility in Adana and the first coach bus, the Maraton, was introduced to the public market.
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2000
Vehicles expanded to countries outside of Turkey, with most buses being exported to Western Europe.
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2001
TEMSA released the Safari, its first independently-designed coach bus.
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2004
The company began introducing different sizes of the bus, including smaller midibuses and large city/intercity models.
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2008
The Avenue city bus was introduced to the European market, specifically designed for commuter travel on urban European roads.
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2008
TEMSA sealed a distribution agreement with Trident Industries and made a USA debut with the TS 35 coach bus that was immediately popular with operators for being an economical alternative to larger bus models.
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2012
The TS30 and TS45 coach bus models were exclusively introduced to the US market with a distribution contract through CH Bus Sales.
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2016
More than 10,000 vehicles had been exported to 66 countries across the world and plans were announced to open a manufacturing facility in the United States.
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2016
TEMSA's first electric vehicles, the MD9 ElectriCity and Avenue EV are proposed.
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2019
An exclusive €45 million contract is signed with Romania’s Interior Ministry to provide 326 LD12 model buses to the city. TEMSA also signs deals with the largest tour operators in Portugal and Serbia.
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2019
The MD9 electriCITY and new Avenue Electron electric buses are exhibited at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Stockholm. This marks TEMSA as the first coach manufacturer with more than one model of production-ready electric bus.
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2019
TEMSA agreed to a major share transfer agreement with Switzerland-based firm True Value Capital Partners after financial struggles. This aimed to bring in new investments and leadership to strengthen export efforts.
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2020
The company was bought back from True Value Capital Partners. Sabanci Holdings agreed to a 50/50 joint ownership of TEMSA with Škoda Transportation, a Czech transportation engineering company.
TEMSA Buses Today
Image courtesy of Marek Banach on Wikimedia Commons
TEMSA has set its sights on North American expansion in recent years. Unfortunately, production has been set back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of the pandemic, players across the transportation industry have seen a massive downturn in business. TEMSA’s previous financial troubles haven’t kept the company from continuing business during the pandemic, though. TEMSA North America announced that it didn’t plan to furlough any employees during the pandemic. TEMSA North America’s relatively small 40-person team is focusing on important consumer experience projects that had been thrown on the backburner during busy production times.
Today, TEMSA is also investing more time and energy into developing its sustainable electric bus models. All together, TEMSA has four models of electric bus in the pipeline for production in the next few years. These include the Avenue EV, Avenue Electron, and MD9 electriCITY city buses, along with a TS45E coach bus for the US market.
Curious about more models of TEMSA’s buses? Keep on reading to learn more about their fleet.
TEMSA's Fleet
On average, TEMSA produces 4,000 buses and 7,500 light trucks annually. Over the years, the company has developed more than two dozen models of buses. TEMSA offers exclusive models of buses in different markets to meet consumer needs and varying emission standards in several countries. Three models of coach bus are currently available in North America:
The bus markets in Turkey and Europe have a wider range of coach, city, and intercity buses. TEMSA plans to introduce new bus models to the North American market in the future.
TEMSA's MOST POPULAR Bus Model:TS 45
The TS 45 is the most popular model of bus in the US. Compared to other full-sized coach buses on the market, the TS 45 is affordable to operate. It’s a reliable model offered at a reasonable price point, making it a top value bus for US operators. Many US operators also enjoy the smaller TS 30 and TS 35 options for smaller trips. As of 2017, TEMSA exported more than 1,000 buses to the US.
TEMSA's FIRST Bus Model: Maraton
TEMSA’s first bus was licensed and distributed by Mitsubishi Motors. The Maraton coach bus debuted in 1987 and is still available in the twelfth and thirteenth iteration in Turkey and parts of Europe (with some big modern updates, of course.) This model of bus became a blueprint for many of TEMSA’s large coach buses, including its first independently-designed coach bus, the Safari.
TEMSA's NEWEST Bus Model: TS 45E
In the North American Market, TEMSA planned to release a fully electric coach bus in the first quarter of 2020. The TS 45E is the TS 45 bus that North American operators know and love, just fully electric. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has halted production on the TS 45E. North American operators and travelers can look forward to a recently updated TS30 though. This updated compact model now offers a 100% stainless steel body, 35% more luggage space, and wider seats for comfortable long-distance trips. Specs for the TS 45E are currently unavailable.
Other Notable TEMSA Bus Model Specs:
TS 30 Specs:
- Weight: 27,980 lbs
- Height: 11 ft
- Width: 7.9 ft
- Length: 30 ft
- Seats: 34
- Luggage compartment volume: 190 ft³.
- Fuel tank capacity 80 US gal
TS 35 Specs:
- Weight: 37,448 lbs
- Height: 11.5 ft
- Width: 8.3 ft
- Length: 35 ft
- Seats: 40
- Luggage compartment volume: 215 ft³
- Fuel tank capacity: 154 US gal
TEMSA Maraton 13 Specs:
- Weight: 18,000 - 19,000 kg
- Height: 3.9 m
- Width: 2.5 m
- Length: 13.08 m
- Seats: 57+1
- Luggage compartment volume: 14 m³
- Fuel tank capacity 583 L
More information about TEMSA’s bus model specs can be found on their website. Specifications for US models are available on their US website. Specifications for models in Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the rest of Europe can be found on their regional websites.
Other Popular Bus Manufacturers:
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Van Hool
Van Hool prides itself on its line of world-renowned tour coaches and charter buses—with 80% of its vehicles exported across Europe, North America, and parts of Africa and East Asia every year.
Learn More About Van Hool -
Prevost
Prevost's reputation for luxury earned them the opportunity to build the frames for Ground Force One, the fleet of motorcoaches used by the President of the United States.
Learn More About Prevost -
MCI
After nearly 90 years in the motorcoach business, MCI has become one of the largest and most-trusted bus providers in America—which explains why they sell more coaches than anyone else.
Learn More About MCI
Want to Learn More About Popular Charter Bus Manufacturers?
National Charter Bus’s network of transportation partners includes reliable TEMSA buses, as well as vehicles from other popular manufacturers like Van Hool, Prevost, and MCI. To learn more about our transportation services and fleet of available rental buses, call 1-844-755-0510.