BMC (Turkey)

BMC Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi A.Ş.
Industry Automotive
Founded 1964
Headquarters İzmir, Turkey
Products Automobiles, Automotives, Trucks and Buses
Parent TMSF
Website www.bmc.com.tr/
BMC Probus at the 2008 FIAA (International Bus and Coach Fair) in Madrid

BMC(Turkish pronunciation[beː meː ˈdʒeː]) is one of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturers in Turkey. Its products include buses, trucks, and military vehicles.

The company was founded in 1964 in partnership with the UK's British Motor Corporation. It was taken over by Çukurova Holding of Turkey in 1989, and seized by the Turkish government's TMSF in 2013.[1]

BMC was subject to a final bid of TRY751m to ES Mali Yatırım ve Danismanlik, whose owner Ethem Sancak confirmed his interest in building up a defence business and that he is in talks with the Qatari government over the possible investment of TRY1bn into BMC.[2]

History

Partnership with British Motor Corporation

Exports of Austin trucks from the UK to Turkey began in 1947. Austin merged with Morris Motors in 1952 to form the British Motor Corporation, known as BMC. BMC Turkey was formed in 1964 in İzmir by Ergün Özakat in partnership with the British Motor Corporation. The UK-based company held 26% of the capital, with the remainder belonging to the Turkish partners.[3] Both Austin and Morris vehicles were manufactured at BMC Turkey under licence during its early years.

1966 was the first year BMC started adding truck, light truck, tractor and engine production in its product line. Turkish-made Leyland 6/98 diesel engines of 120 hp (89 kW) were used across the line by the late 1970s.[3]

Other partnerships

BMC Levend

In later years BMC evolved and developed other models with partnerships with other firms, and the successors of the British Motor Corporation (which became British Leyland).

First, the Leyland 30 was released into the market as the first full-size van.

BMC Fatih, belonging to the (otherwise unrelated) Fatih municipal government

In 1983, under a partnership with Volvo Trucks, BMC produced the Yavuz series trucks. These were followed by the Fatih series of trucks which offered Cummins diesel engines. Both the Yavuz and the Fatih used Leyland's old G-series cab, also referred to as the "Redline" or the "Bathgate" cab (after the plant where it was originally built).[3]

Çukurova (1989 - 2013)

In 1989 the company was fully acquired by the Çukurova Group of Turkey. From that moment on, BMC started to produce its own indigenous product line, independent from other manufacturers.

In 1996 BMC started the production of the Profesyonel series, which are produced in Turkey and (since 2004) under licence in Iran. A modernized version of the Profesyonel is sold as the "Professional".

BMC also produces buses as part of the Belde series (since 1993) and Probus series. There is a small truck line called the "Levend", with either a cabover or a short bonneted design. This chassis is also used for the Levend XL and XLC minibuses.

Since 2000, BMC exports trucks and buses to numerous countries around the world. When exports to the United Kingdom began in 2003, this marked the return to the UK of the BMC brand name, not seen on British roads since the 1960s.

The 2.8 litre MegaStar is built in İzmir (Turkey) by BMC, production started in 2004. Ten versions of the vehicle are available with two different engines, with power ratings of 83 and 95 kW (113 and 129 PS) and manual transmission.

Design

The BMC Profesyonel and BMC Megastar models are designed by Pininfarina.

Military

References

  1. ↑ Hurriyet Daily News, 13 June 2013, Turkey's defense body awaits new partners for seized firm
  2. ↑ O'Byrne, David. "Sale of rump British motor manufacturer opens door for "Turkish" car". Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Baldwin, Nick (1981), The Observer's Book of Commercial Vehicles (#40), London: Frederick Warne, p. 23, ISBN 0-7232-1619-3

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BMC buses.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to BMC trucks.
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