ISTANBUL, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- With the vision "One Step Ahead in the Future of Mobility," Karsan, a pioneer in the global transition of public transportation to electric and autonomous vehicles has successfully achieved yet another first with Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK. As part of the Sälen-Idre Autonomous Public Transportation Project (SIKTA), conducted in collaboration with the municipalities of Malung-Sälen and Älvdalen in Sweden, local businesses, and Dalarna University, the Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK became one of the first autonomous bus applications to transport passengers under real-world road conditions in a mountainous tourism region. As of January 2026, Autonomous e-ATAK underwent comprehensive testing in traffic and shared-road scenarios involving constant interaction with pedestrians and skiers, as well as heavy snowfall and challenging winter conditions. Following a successful testing phase, it received passenger transport approval from the Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) on March 9, 2026, and entered commercial operation. The vehicle provided safe and uninterrupted service under real-world operational conditions by transporting tourists for approximately one month during the peak ski tourism season. Operating on a 4.8-kilometer route as part of the project, Autonomous e-ATAK actively served between ski resort areas and accommodation points, demonstrating not only its technological capabilities but also its contribution to sustainable and inclusive mobility solutions. Karsan CEO Okan Bas, who stated that this application represents one of the most comprehensive implementations of autonomous public transportation vehicles in challenging environments such as mountain and ski tourism, said, "With this project we have launched in Sälen, we have demonstrated that autonomous mobility can operate safely and seamlessly even in winter tourism regions one of the most challenging use cases for autonomous mobility. "This application is strong evidence that autonomous public transportation has moved beyond being a pilot technology and has become an integral part of real life. This new success further solidifies Karsan's leadership in the field of autonomous mobility," he said.
Sälen application stands out as one of the globally referenced implementations for autonomous public transportation in highly complex environments where harsh weather conditions intersect with intense human interaction.
A robust model for scalable tourism mobility!
Sälen-Idre Autonomous Public Transportation Project (SIKTA) stands out as a significant mobility initiative led by the Municipality of Malung-Sälen, in collaboration with the Municipality of Älvdalen, local businesses, and Dalarna University. This initiative, implemented in Sälen, goes beyond being a one-off project; it represents a strong step toward a long-term transformation aimed at expanding autonomous mobility in tourism regions. The operational success achieved demonstrates that autonomous public transportation is a safe, sustainable, and viable solution even under challenging climatic and geographical conditions. In the project's second phase, the Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK is planned to operate in Idre, another major winter tourism hub in Sweden. In this context, the strong performance outcomes achieved in Sälen are expected to pave the way for broader-scale operations.
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