Following the public unveiling of the new MAN battery electric eTruck tractor unit at the IAA Transportation exhibition last month, the company has commenced a series of test drives of the new vehicle, giving customers and press the opportunity to get behind the wheel, and released some additional details.
MAN has confirmed it will have in-house battery manufacture beginning in 2025 and is making a commitment to developing and implementing megawatt charging technologies and infrastructure, as well as eMobility advice for clients.
“Our new eTruck will electrify long-distance transport from 2024. MAN will then be driving electrically and CO2-free in all product areas - from vans to city buses and distribution trucks to heavy long-distance trucks,” says Alexander Vlaskamp, CEO of MAN Truck & Bus. ”At the IAA we opened the order book for the first batch of the new eTruck and there are many interested parties!
”Our truck comes just at the right time. From the middle of the decade it will be more economical to drive battery-electric than conventional diesel. By 2030, half of our vehicles sold in the EU should have zero-emission drive systems. But for this to happen, the charging infrastructure must be there, in Germany and in Europe. Today, the German Federal Government adopted the Charging Infrastructure Master Plan II - for the first time, it also includes the development of charging infrastructure for battery-electric trucks. This is an important first step, but the targets for charging stations and the required space and energy need to be more concrete.”
By 2030, MAN is aiming for 50% of its vehicles sold in the EU to be carbon zero and large-scale series manufacture of approximately 100,000 battery packs will begin at MAN’s Nuremberg factory in 2025. MAN is also involved in researching charging technologies for heavy-duty electric vehicles. One of them is “HoLa” (high-performance charging in long-distance truck transport), which is looking at the design, installation, and operation of high-performance truck charging stations along the A2 federal highway. While the “NEFTON” project (Commercial Vehicle Electrification for Transport Sector Optimised Network Connection) focuses mainly on charging technology development. Elsewhere, MAN parent company Traton Group has formed a joint venture with Daimler Trucks and the Volvo Group to create at least 1,700 high-performance charging outlets on or near European highways and logistical centres. For this goal, the partners are investing a total of 500 million euros.
