Emerging from the pandemic, Turkish manufacturer Temsa is experiencing a growing interest in its smallest vehicle, the 30-foot TS30 coach.
Randy Angell, National Sales Manager at Temsa North America, contends it’s the best vehicle of its size on the market in terms of quality and price.
“You can buy two TS30s for less than the typical sell price of a 45-foot motorcoach,” Angell said.
The vehicle, introduced in 2013, was designed to compete with the higher-end cutaways used in the limousine industry. It’s also priced to stand out from the competition.
“The TS30 offers a true motorcoach with a monocoque stainless steel chassis, versus a body-on-frame chassis, giving the coach longevity and reliability of standard motorcoaches. We wanted not only to improve it, but we wanted to make it more affordable for the whole industry,” added Tim Guldin, the company’s Southeast Region Manager based in Orlando, Florida.
Temsa sells TS30s at EXPO
The 2021 UMA Motorcoach EXPO in April gave Temsa an opportunity to reintroduce the revitalized TS30 model, which they debuted at the 2020 EXPO in Nashville, just before the pandemic hit.
Temsa sold several TS30’s during the Orlando trade show, including the display model, which was driven off the floor and delivered to its new owner right after the show. That’s impressive, considering new motorcoach sales in the first quarter of 2021 fell more than 50% compared to the same period a year earlier.
“We thought it was very important for us to have the ability to display a motorcoach on the floor, said Angell, adding that customers “are just overwhelmingly appreciative of the changes made and are really impressed with what they are seeing.”
Temsa followed up EXPO by driving some TS30 coaches to various regions, giving clients a chance to see the models’ new upgrades up close. Ideal for both city and long-distance travel, the redesigned TS30 features a Cummins B series 6.7L engine paired to an Eaton Procision transmission and a 34-plus-one seating capacity.
Client feedback heeded
The new features and enhancements reflect the feedback gathered from clients since the original TS30 was introduced in 2013. The retooled 30-foot vehicle garners praise for the increased luggage capacity, an expanded driver’s well and easy accessibility to the front bumper, tires, headlights and taillights.
Overall, the vehicles are designed to be more driver-friendly, from increased legroom to uniformity of the dash layout, now lined up in a row and featuring descriptions to clarify their use.
The company is making its 30-, 35- and 45-foot coaches more uniform. so drivers can switch between the different models with increased ease and safety.
During the pandemic, the North America Temsa held a few meetings a month with the factory’s product development and quality teams to discuss improvements or ways to correct issues voiced by Temsa clients.
“We have really worked diligently for a long time now. The dividends are paying off. Safety features have standardized with all our Temsa vehicles,” Angell said.
Productive during downtime
As the pandemic forced most OEMs to quickly downsize to reduce costs, Temsa largely maintained its smaller workforce.
“We were very productive in the downtime,” Angell said. “We are trying to make sure that when we come out of this, that we’re positioned correctly from a pricing standpoint, a quality standpoint and a product standpoint. Those three categories are very important, along with the serviceability of our vehicles and making sure we have proper coverage out there moving forward.”
Although Temsa buses have been sold in the U.S. market since 2010, the company has been building its direct relationship with its customer base since 2018, with the successful launch of Temsa North America Inc. to handle sales, service and parts operations in the U.S. and Canada.
Based in Adana Turkey, Temsa has been manufacturing buses and trucks for more than 50 years, and has the capacity to build 4,000 buses a year. The international bus maker now operates in 66 countries worldwide.
Tolga Kaan Doğancıoğlu, Temsa’s new CEO, attended the recent UMA EXPO to meet customers, and share the company’s vision for the future.
“We are 100% committed to the North American motorcoach industry and to the great team we have assembled. Temsa has delivered more than 1,000 coaches here and we’re excited about the future. The pandemic has placed a great strain on our customers and the industry, but we have continued to invest heavily in our team, supporting our customers and developing new technology,” he said.
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