Neobus (Serbia)

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Neobus a.d. Novi Sad was a Serbian bus maker founded on June 1, 1952, in Novi Sad. It started as Autokaroserija, a small repair workshop that later began building new chassis in 1956. The company worked closely with TAM Maribor and became fully integrated with TAM in 1973. In 1974, Autokaroserija produced its first urban bus on a Volvo chassis for Novi Sad’s city transport company, which became its main customer. During its 1980s “golden era,” the factory moved to a large facility in Novi Sad’s Industrial Zone South, with about 700 workers producing up to 650 buses a year.

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, relations with TAM ended, sanctions and economic problems hit the business, and Autokaroserija faced difficulties. In 1992 the company changed its name to Neobus, became more Serbian-market focused, and went bankrupt in 1999. It recovered and restarted production in 2001.

In 2004 Neobus was bought by Saudi businessman Alaa Maghrabi Mohammedali A. The new owner helped revive the business, and in 2006 Neobus signed agreements with Volvo to be Volvo’s official bodybuilder for Southeast Europe and with VDL Bus & Coach for intercity buses. Neobus was declared bankrupt again on November 22, 2012. In 2013 there were talks with Chinese manufacturer Yutong Bus about a purchase, but the deal did not materialize.

Neobus built buses on its own chassis and on chassis from Volvo, DAF, Mercedes-Benz and FAP, and it served customers worldwide before its final closure.