Turkish EV manufacturer says reports on Sweden autonomous bus incident created ‘misleading perception’

Turkish electric vehicle manufacturer Karsan said Tuesday that media reports about an accident involving one of its autonomous buses in Sweden created an “incomplete and misleading perception” after social media users criticized the wording used in international coverage of the incident.

In a public statement, Karsan said its autonomous e-ATAK vehicle operating in Gothenburg “sustained damage as a result of contact from a tram approaching from behind during traffic flow,” adding that no injuries were reported.

The company said preliminary technical evaluations indicated that the autonomous driving system “functioned as designed throughout the process.”

“While the Autonomous e-ATAK detected surrounding obstacles in traffic and continued its operation within established safety protocols, the tram approaching from behind failed to maintain a sufficient following distance and made contact with the vehicle,” the statement said.

Karsan added that the incident “appears not to be related to the autonomous driving system, but rather to be a traffic incident occurring within urban traffic flow.”

The statement followed criticism directed at Reuters over a headline that read: “Turkey’s Karsan self-driving bus hit in Sweden on first day of service.”

Critics argued that the wording implied the autonomous vehicle caused the accident, while the report itself stated that the bus had been struck by a tram.

A community note later appeared beneath the Reuters post on the US social media platform X stating: “Contrary to the headline, the bus ‘was’ hit by a tram as stated in the article.”

The issue spread widely among Turkish social media users, with many accusing the headline of unfairly harming the Turkish company’s reputation.