Karsan Van Rejected by New York City Taxi Commission

Turkish automaker Karsan, one of the three finalists in the bid to produce New York taxi cabs, has been rejected, according to a city official who has been informed of the decision, the New York Times reported Monday.

The Karsan’s van has been rejected by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, or TLC, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the decision was not yet made public.

On the other hand, Jan Nahum, the executive director of Karsan, said in a statement that he was shocked that he had not been directly notified of the decision, describing the premature release of the report as inappropriate, New York Times said. “Furthermore, we were unaware of any such report, and the concerns reportedly raised in it have never been expressed to us,” New York Times quoted Nahum as saying.

Karsan, meanwhile, announced Monday in a written statement that the company was aware of the news report published on the New York Times, but they were not officially informed by the TLC. Karsan will share the result with the public, following an official statement from the TCL, according to the company.

Turkish automaker Karsan was one of the short listed companies together with Ford and Nissan in the bid to produce New York taxi cabs.

The rejection came after a review raised concerns about whether the Turkish company, untested in the United-States market, could reliably execute the high-concept product it had designed, New York Times said.

Karsan’s bid attracted far more attention than its competitors’, earning international headlines as a stylish new look for the traditional New York cab, New York Times said. Among the three finalists, only Karsan’s V1 project is designed with a particular attention handicapped passengers’ needs. Neither the Transit Connect by Ford, produced in Turkey’s Gölcük district in the Marmara province of Kocaeli, nor Nissan’s vehicle have a system that supports wheelchair users.

The city’s Taxi of Tomorrow competition, which will award a contract for the next decade’s yellow cabs, will now continue with two finalists, which are the Ford Transit Connect and the Nissan NV200 vans. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is expected to announce the selection this week.

Lack of experience

An analysis commissioned by the city concluded that Karsan would present the “highest risk” to the taxi industry if chosen for the 10-year contract, the New York Times said.

The report, prepared by an automotive consultant, Ricardo Inc., said that while Karsan had demonstrated “the will and technical capability” to build its proposed taxi, the company was “a new manufacturer, with a new manufacturing paradigm, not familiar with the U.S. regulatory framework, with no current sales, service or support infrastructure in the U.S.”

New York City Mayor Bloomberg appeared to allude to Karsan’s perceived problems on his radio program last week. “You have got to look at how much experience companies have had in building cars,” he said Friday.

The Brooklyn Municipality, meanwhile, showed its support to Karsan during a meeting on Sunday, Anatolia news agency reported.

Speaking at a rally on Sunday, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said if Karsan won the bidding, a facility, where the assembling of cars to be made, may be established in Brooklyn and provide job for some 800 people.

Karsan said last month that it was prepared to build a plant in Sunset Park, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York Times said.

“In this facility, we will provide employment for some 800 American citizens. Karsan should win this bidding,” Markowitz said. “Both its magnificent car design and employment to be provided to residents of Brooklyn are very important.”

Speaking at the meeting, New York State Senator Eric Adams said that handicapped people are subject to discrimination in taxi usage. “With model developed by Karsan, this discrimination would be ended.”

Karsan is powerful in Turkey and it is an experienced brand in car production, said Mehmet Samsar, Turkish consul general to New York. “I believe that New York taxi cabs should be produced in New York. If Karsan wins the bidding, the company will make this.”

Julie Kushner, a United Auto Workers director who also spoke at the rally, said Karsan’s selection would “represent the first auto assembly jobs in the city for decades.”

Monday, May 2, 2011
SOURCE: Daily News with wires