The first limited edition models of the new MAN eTruck for 2024 are already sold out, prompting the manufacturer to call for a speedier rollout of charging points to maintain market demand.
Announcing the news, Alexander Vlaskamp, MAN Truck & Bus chief executive, hailed the new truck’s popularity but warned of the urgent need to roll out “at least” 50,000 charging points in Europe by 2030.
A total of 700 orders and order requests have been received, the majority of which are for large-scale production, which will start at the MAN plant in Munich in 2025.The rush to order has left a ”very small number” of vehicles still for sale, the manufacturer said.
Trucks with diesel and battery-electric drives will then be manufactured on the same assembly line, which MAN said will allow the greatest possible flexibility depending on the demand situation. The plan is for half of all new MAN trucks delivered in Europe to be electrically powered by 2030.
Vlaskamp said.“We are delighted that the new MAN electric truck has been so well received by our customers right from the start. The unique, modular battery concept, which offers the right compromise between range and payload for every application and enables all common types of superstructures, certainly contributes to this.
”The right vehicles for the drive turnaround in road freight transport are therefore here and will be rolling out to the first customers this year. Both the commercial vehicle industry and large parts of the logistics sector are ready to make a decisive contribution to the fight against climate change.
”However, we urgently need the right public charging infrastructure so that CO2-neutral freight transport on the road can pick up speed and customers are not disillusioned by the initial euphoria.
“As part of the Traton Group, MAN, together with the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck, is already involved in the Milence joint venture, which aims to set up at least 1,700 high-performance and megawatt charging points for commercial vehicles across Europe.
”However, we need at least 50,000 charging points in Europe by 2030 in order to make a consistent transition. All players from politics and the energy sector are therefore now called upon to work together to achieve this important contribution to the climate targets,” he added.
The new MAN eTGX and eTGS both have six battery packs, two of which are installed under the cab and up to four more on the side of the vehicle frame, and have 480 kWh of usable battery capacity for daily ranges of up to 800 kilometres.
