Turkey's Karsan offers to build taxis in Brooklyn
Turkish manufacturer Karsan (KARSN.IS) has promised to assemble cars in Brooklyn if it wins New York's "Taxi of Tomorrow" concession, potentially returning auto making to the city
for the first time in a century.
(...)
In 1900 there were six factories with 500 employees making cars in New York City, mostly electric or steam driven, according to historian Kenneth T. Jackson, editor of "The Encyclopedia of New York City."
"By 1916, the internal combustion engine had won the battle, and so far as I know New York manufacture had ended," Jackson said.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has become an enthusiastic advocate for the Karsan bid, though the decision rests with the commission.
"Here would be something novel: a foreign manufacturer, Turkish, actually manufacturing right here, putting Brooklynites and New Yorkers to work," Markowitz said. "That would say something that the rest of the world might want to (notice) very carefully."
Wachtel said the plant would be able to build 10,000 units a year, compared with the 3,000 per year needed for New York City taxis.
The excess would be sold as taxis in other cities and for the U.S. retail market, which requires 16,000 wheelchair-accessible cars a year, Wachtel said.
Turkey's Karsan offers to build taxis in Brooklyn | Reuters