Driving the mobility revolution forward together: Federal Minister Robert Habeck visits MAN in Ankara

Alexander Vlaskamp, Chairman of the Executive Board of MAN Truck & Bus SE, once again emphasised the importance of expanding the public charging infrastructure and the need for sensible political guard rails in the conversion to zero-emission technology. As early as 2030, 90 percent of all newly registered MAN buses and 50 percent of all MAN trucks in Europe are to be battery-electric.

Together with partners and customers, MAN is driving sustainable mobility forward and is fully committed to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. "Sustainability is an integral part of our corporate strategy. For the transformation towards climate-neutral mobility, we must significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and consistently put our innovative eMobility technology on the road. Our goal is for MAN to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2050 at the latest," explained Vlaskamp during the visit of the political delegation led by Federal Minister Habeck to the MAN Bus site in Ankara. "MAN has pulled the lever in the direction of zero emissions. Now we need far-sighted political regulations, financial planning security and speed in the development of the charging infrastructure as well as an efficient power grid," Vlaskamp emphasised, highlighting the role of politics: "Only with political support and cross-sectoral cooperation can we bring about the mobility turnaround together and achieve the climate targets."

Federal Minister Robert Habeck used the visit to Ankara to see for himself the investments in the Turkish site and the progress of the transformation at MAN: "The drive and energy turnaround in mobility is changing the entire industry in an unprecedented way. In order to achieve our climate targets, we must decarbonise freight and passenger transport quickly and consistently. The steps taken in the transformation towards eMobility show that the company is actively driving this change and investing in future technologies as well as the development of its locations," said Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

MAN is driving eMobility forward

MAN sees electric drive as the most efficient form of drive on the road to locally emission-free mobility. Battery-electric commercial vehicles impress with low operating costs, the best energy balance and economically attractive TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for customers. With the all-electric Lion's City E city bus, the company has set the course for the electrification of the MAN fleet. Since the start of series production, 1,000 Lion's City E buses have already rolled off the production line and demonstrate every day in regular service just how suitable and reliable modern electric vehicles are for everyday use. In the coming years, the company will consistently convert its portfolio in the city bus and intercity segment to electric vehicles. "By 2025, half of our new city buses will be electric, and just five years later, up to 90 percent of our buses in Europe will be battery-powered," says Barbaros Oktay, Head of Bus at MAN Truck & Bus. The company also has the electrification of its coaches in mind. An initial eCoach test fleet is planned from 2025.

The official sales launch of the new heavy MAN eTruck has already begun. Production will start in Munich in 2024, when the first vehicles will also roll out to selected customers. Thanks to its preparation for the megawatt charging standard, it achieves daily ranges of between 600 and 800 kilometres suitable for long-distance transport, and in the future even up to 1,000 kilometres. As early as 2030, around 50 percent of all newly registered MAN trucks in Europe are to be battery-electric. MAN will manufacture the battery packs for its eTrucks and eBuses itself at its plant in Nuremberg from 2025. An annual production capacity of up to 100,000 battery packs is planned here.

MAN in Ankara: Shaping transformation in the plant network

MAN recently broke ground on the future battery factory in Nuremberg and the transformation to the gradual switch to electromobility is in full swing at the main truck plant in Munich. With its three bus sites in Starachowice (Poland), Olifantsfontein (South Africa) and Ankara (Turkey), MAN is also well positioned in the production network. Starachowice has proven itself as a competence centre for electric city buses, in Olifantsfontein MAN has now delivered its first eBus in Africa, and the plant in Ankara is consistently adding development scope to the company. A Product Development Centre (PDC) for the two bus brands MAN and NEOPLAN is currently being built at the Turkish bus plant, including a new test track and a centre for bus modification. In the next step, production and employees will be prepared for the requirements of electric mobility and the site will be successively converted to eMobility. In the future, electric intercity buses and coaches will roll off the production line here.

Speed is needed in the expansion of the charging infrastructure

MAN has trimmed the company, its products and its sites for a sustainable future. In order for the green mobility revolution to succeed, the main thing that is needed is a comprehensive and accelerated expansion of the public charging infrastructure. With the Milence joint venture, which the TRATON GROUP founded together with Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group, MAN is part of the solution: in the next few years, at least 1,700 high-performance charging points are to be built at or near motorways and logistics hubs throughout Europe. For the sector, however, an expansion to at least 4,000 charging points in Germany and 50,000 high-power and megawatt charging points in Europe by 2030 is necessary. This means that a cross-sectoral closing of ranks and the commitment of politics and the energy industry are required here in order to master the transport turnaround together.