Otokar has signed a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement in Romania with Automecanica S.A. to manufacture Otokar Cobra II 4×4 armoured vehicles.
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Press Release, Arifiye, 24 April 2025: Turkey’s global land systems manufacturer Otokar has signed a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement in Romania with one of the country’s leading defence companies, Automecanica S.A. The JV will manufacture Otokar Cobra II 4X4 armoured vehicles and carry out engineering, marketing, and after-sales activities.
Otokar being the defence wing of Turkey’s largest conglomerate Koç Group, has taken a significant step in its 1059 COBRA II contract, awarded by the Romanian Ministry of Defense in November 2024 and signed a Joint Venture Agreement with one of the substantial defence companies of Romania, Automecanica S.A. in order to manufacture locally in Romania and develop further defence capabilities in the country. As well as producing COBRA II 4×4 ATBTU armoured vehicles in Romania, the JV will also conduct engineering, marketing, and after-sales services activities in the country.
According to the signed Joint Venture Agreement, each Otokar Land Systems SRL and Automecanica S.A. will hold a 50% stake in the JV.
Otokar CEO, Aykut Özüner, stated that Otokar is the largest land platforms exporter of Turkey and pointed out this agreement as one of the most important steps in Otokar’s growth strategy in defence industry. “Being a global player in the defence industry, Otokar has become Turkey’s largest land platform exporter. We proudly operate in many different regions over the world with our military vehicles, which are successfully serving in more than 40 countries. As part of our ongoing project in Romania, we are pleased to announce that we took the first step for the establishment of our new joint venture company for manufacturing our legendary COBRA II vehicles in Romania. This step will be one of the main milestones in Otokar’s growth strategy in defence industry, contributing to our company’s expansion in global markets.”
Emphasising Otokar’s commitment to expand its presence in Europe, Otokar Military Cluster Head, Sedef Vehbi, highlighted their readiness to meet Romania’s own requirements and stated that, through this JV, Romania will become a strategic hub for European operations of Otokar. She also added, “We are immensely proud to have been selected by the Romanian Ministry of Defense for this landmark project. In line of our localisation and challenging delivery commitments to the esteemed Romanian government, we selected Romania’s Automecanica S.A as our trusted local partner following a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation process. In this decision, the company’s technical competence and proven manufacturing capabilities played an important role. Now it is the time to execute and we as shareholders are thrilled and fully committed to delivering excellence while further strengthening Romania’s defence capabilities.
Chairman of Automecanica S.A, Andrei Scobioala, stated that being one of the most capable defence companies of Romania, Automecanica S.A. is thrilled to forge this powerful alliance with Otokar. This collaboration marks a significant step forward in serving the distinguished Romanian Armed Forces and boosting the national economy through our factory’s operations. He emphasised, “Our unwavering commitment to this project leaves no room for doubt—this partnership will be a key driver in advancing Romania’s local defence capabilities.”
About the Project: On March 20, 2024, Otokar submitted its bid for the tender for the purchase of 4×4 Light Armoured Tactical Vehicles initiated by C.N. Romtehnica S.A.
Following the successful completion of the technical evaluation, field tests and financial evaluation phases, Otokar was declared as the winner of the tender and on November 27, 2024 and a 4.26 billion LEI multi-annual contract to supply 1,059 COBRA II 4×4 armoured vehicles to Romanian Ministry of Defense was signed between Otokar and C.N. Romtechnica S.A.
Within the scope of the said contract, the first 278 COBRA II 4×4 tactical light armoured vehicles will be delivered directly from Turkey and all remaining vehicles will be manufactured in Romania. The deliveries will be initiated in the last quarter of 2025 and be completed in batches over 5 years. The contract also covers integrated logistics support services.
With Otokar’s 40 years of defence industry experience and capabilities being appreciated by around 70 end-users over the world, COBRA II is designed as a modular platform, which can be developed for different mission requirements and actively used by more than 20 end users in 13 countries
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