With the transformation to climate-neutral drive systems, road haulage is facing a groundbreaking change. MAN will start production of its electric long-haul truck in 2024. There are already more than 500 order enquiries. “The technological upheaval is in full swing. As early as 2030, half of our trucks registered annually in Europe should be battery-electric. For this to succeed, we need the support of politicians: in the Europe-wide construction of around 50,000 public truck charging points and a CO2 price that makes e-trucks more economical than diesel,” said Alexander Vlaskamp, CEO of MAN Truck & Bus, during a drive with Minister President Stephan Weil in the new MAN eTruck to mark the 180th birthday of commercial vehicle pioneer Heinrich Büssing at the MAN plant in Salzgitter. The site, which was founded as a Büssing plant and was later taken over by MAN together with the traditional brand, will also play an important role for electric trucks in the future as part of the MAN plant network and the parent company TRATON with its focus on component production and spare parts logistics.
“The technological change affects everyone. That is why qualified employees are a key to success in the transformation. Here, too, active support from politicians will be needed in the coming years to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and to keep future technologies in Germany,” said MAN Truck & Bus Chief Human Resources Officer Arne Puls, naming another important aspect for the transformation during the eTruck drive in Salzgitter. Because in production, for which MAN has already trained a total of 2,600 employees in high-voltage technology, but above all also in the development of electric technology, a lot of new know-how is required so that e-trucks can be used in a wide variety of practical applications in the future.
For example, in order to be able to cover long transport distances electrically, long-distance trucks should be able to be fully charged during the drivers’ 45-minute driving time break. MAN is involved with numerous partners in the development of the megawatt charging system (MCS) required for this through the NEFTON project. The new MAN eTruck is already technically prepared for this MCS standard, which is expected to be available from 2025. Long-distance daily ranges of up to 1,000 kilometres will thus be possible in the future. And with its variable battery configurations between 300 and 500 kWh of usable capacity, it will also easily cover other typical transport tasks of today’s trucks, such as low-noise and emission-free waste disposal in the city or the more climate-friendly collection of milk from organic farmers.
MAN is also making intensive preparations for electromobility in the area of charging infrastructure and is setting up 1,700 high-performance charging points for trucks along major European trunk roads over the next five years in a joint venture with TRATON and other partners. In addition, MAN is already providing customers with comprehensive advice on switching to electromobility and is also offering the necessary charging infrastructure through partners.
Production of the new MAN eTruck will start in 2024 at the main plant in Munich. In future, it will initially come off the production line there in mixed production with conventional diesel trucks. The concept, with which around half of all trucks produced annually by MAN are to be electric by 2030, also integrates MAN’s other plants. Krakow, for example, will produce larger numbers of diesel trucks as electromobility ramps up in order to create more capacity for electric trucks in Munich.
At the Nuremberg plant, MAN will start producing its own batteries in 2025, with the aim of producing around 100,000 of them annually from 2030. Salzgitter will also play a key role in the transformation as a component plant for non-driven axles and crankshafts for the new Group engine developed jointly by all TRATON Group manufacturers. In addition, the site is responsible for MAN’s worldwide spare parts logistics, which in future will also increasingly include electric components.
