MAN Truck & Bus is reorganising the management of its bus business as part of a comprehensive package of measures to transform the unit.
MAN Names Barbaros Oktay Head of Bus
In the newly created role of ‘Head of Bus’ (HoB), Barbaros Oktay assumes overall entrepreneurial responsibility for the bus unit. He reports directly to MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp and has direct organisational responsibility for managing the ‘Bus Engineering, Production and Sales’ units. The Bus Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Bus Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Bus Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) functions, which are also newly created in the bus organisation, act as business partners of the HoB.
Vlaskamp, CEO of MAN Truck & Bus SE, said: “Barbaros Oktay is an internationally experienced manager with proven competence. His main task is to consistently implement our comprehensive package of measures to improve earnings and make the bus business sustainably profitable again. To ensure that this succeeds, we have significantly strengthened the role of the Head of Bus and the overall entrepreneurial responsibility for MAN’s bus business. On behalf of the entire Executive Board, I welcome Oktay to his new role and wish him continued success in this responsible task. After all, the bus business would continue to be an important part of MAN’s product portfolio in the future – alongside trucks, vans and engines as well as services related to passenger and cargo transport.”
Oktay began his career at MAN Truck & Bus in 2004 at MAN Türkiye AŞ‘s production site in Ankara and has since held various bus management positions within the Group. Most recently, Oktay held the positions of Head of Bus Solutions at Traton and Head of Bus Engineering, Product & Project Management at MAN Truck & Bus SE as Senior Vice President.
In his new role as Head of Bus, he takes over the leadership role in MAN‘s bus business from Rudi Kuchta, who becomes the new Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus Austria and replaces Robert Katzer. Katzer is moving to MAN Truck & Bus SE after six years in Austria and would take over as Head of Sales Bus in the new structure.
Sales in the bus business fell from around 7,400 units in 2019 to around 4,600 units in 2021. The situation also remained tense in the 2022 financial year, although sales increased by about 180 units to about 4,800 vehicles compared to 2021. But the recovery, the company noted especially in the coach market, which was hit particularly hard by the Corona crisis, continued to be delayed. In addition to the crisis in Ukraine, further challenges exist due to the clouding of the overall economic situation in Europe and the associated rising material and energy costs.
For a successful turnaround of the bus business, MAN has defined comprehensive measures to improve earnings, including measures to improve both costs and sales. With the organisational realignment, another important step is being taken to lead the bus business back to the path of success.
Vlaskamp is convinced that the MAN bus business could look to the future with confidence despite the tense situation: He believes that strong product range, highly motivated team and the proximity to customers are the best prerequisites for a positive development in the bus segment.
