MAN Truck and Bus has announced series production of electric trucks at its Munich plant. From now on, both electric and diesel trucks will be produced in a fully integrated mixed production process on the same line.
The company is investing around 1bn euros in the conversion to electrification of its European plants during the course of the current decade. Maximum production capacity at the Munich plant currently stands at around 100 trucks per day, regardless of the drive type.
Before starting series production, MAN has already manufactured almost 200 electric pre-series trucks and delivered them to customers. The vehicles have clocked up around two million kilometres in real customer use on European roads – some with daily journeys of up to 850 kilometres and very low consumption of 97 kWh per 100 kilometres on average.
MAN has so far received around 700 orders for electric trucks. The company said the etruck is particularly attractive for use in automotive logistics as the Ultra-Lowliner semi-trailer tractor is unique on the market with its fifth-wheel height of just 950mm and a wheelbase of 3.57 metres. This means that fully electric transport with an internal loading height of three metres is also possible. The electric Ultra Lowliner is already in use in Wolfsburg and Bavaria for automotive supply in various route profiles.
Another advantage of the etruck is its three to six modular NMC batteries, which come from the MAN plant in Nuremberg and offer a total gross capacity of up to 534 kWh. This means that up to 500 kilometres can be covered without recharging. For even greater ranges, there is even an optional seventh battery, which makes it possible to drive up to 740 kilometres on battery power without recharging.
MAN chief executive, Alexander Vlaskamp, said: “The start of series production of our electric trucks is historic. It marks a turning point in our history. The future of MAN begins now, at this very moment. The entire MAN team is proud to be actively shaping the transformation from diesel to electric drive. Our highly efficient electric trucks will make locally emission-free freight transport a reality. This is an enormously important step towards achieving our goal of becoming CO2-neutral by 2050.
“The fact that we can manufacture the electric trucks on the same production line as our state-of-the-art diesel trucks also gives us enormous flexibility and increases production efficiency. We have invested almost 400m euros in research and development to be able to offer our conventional truck product portfolio with battery-electric drive as well. The range extends from 12 to 50 tonnes and covers everything from refuse collection vehicles to long-haul trucks.”
MAN aims to deliver the first 1,000 electric trucks by the end of the year. “Depending on their use and electricity mix, this would save CO2 emissions comparable to those of a small town,” Vlaskamp added. “That is enormous leverage! Politicians must now set the right course with regard to infrastructure expansion and CO2 pricing so that the ramp-up in e-mobility continues to gain momentum.”
Pictured (l-r) are MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp and MAN executive board member for production & logistics Michael Kobriger, together with Manfred Weber, member of the European Parliament and chairman of the EPP, at the Munich plant.
