Turkish armoured vehicle manufacturer Otokar added seven new countries in 2023 to its export portfolio. Anadolu News Agency reporter compiled Otokar's 2023 military vehicle export report card with open-source information. Otokar started producing its designed military armoured vehicles approximately 30 years ago. The company made Turkiye's first tactical armoured vehicle export in 1997 and has reached the capacity to produce 700 tactical armoured vehicles annually.
Otokar is a company that produces both military and civilian vehicles. For this reason, it is necessary to evaluate military vehicle exports separately from civilian vehicles. While Otokar exported military vehicles to four countries in 1997, it increased the number of countries to 41 in 2023. Otokar exported military vehicles to seven new countries last year.
Last year, Otokar increased its military vehicle sales by 43 per cent in units and achieved a 5 billion 666 million liras turnover in this segment. Exports constituted 97 per cent of sales. The company reached the highest sales figure in the last six years, 2023, with 305 military vehicles. Some 28 per cent of the company's total export revenue in 2023 was obtained from military vehicles.
The company closed 2023 with a record balance order figure. The size of the remaining orders, consisting of 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles, buses and spare parts, reached 8 billion 81 million liras.
Developing new vehicles to meet changing needs and demands, the company announced ARMA II, the new member of the ARMA vehicle family, in 2023.
Otokar added the ALPAR heavy-class tracked unmanned ground vehicle and the AKREP II R reconnaissance surveillance vehicle to its armoured product family for the defence industry.
Last year, the company received an order worth approximately 130 million euros from Estonia for ARMA 6x6 armoured carrier vehicles. Otokar signed a 4x4 armoured vehicle contract with another export customer worth approximately 136 million dollars.
Carrying out international activities for new cooperation opportunities, Otokar introduced its vehicles at defence industry fairs in Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Spain, Peru, Egypt and Colombia last year.
