12
March
2020
|
10:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Prize after prize: Triple accolade for MAN at 2020 National Transport Awards in Madrid

Summary

All good things come in threes! For MAN Truck & Bus Iberia, the celebrations never seemed to end at the 2020 National Transport Awards in Madrid. Three of the company’s vehicles, including two EVs, were voted best of the year at the ceremony. The award-winning vehicles were the MAN Lion’s City E, the NEOPLAN Skyliner and the MAN eTGE.

  • Panel of judges comprising 500 business leaders and transportation industry experts picks MAN three times
  • Two MAN electric vehicles, the MAN Lion’s City E and MAN eTGE, head the field
  • Vehicles impressed in terms of safety, reliability, profitability and efficiency

MAN Truck & Bus Iberia scooped not one, not two, but three awards at this year’s National Transport Awards held in January in Madrid. The panel of judges voted the MAN Lion’s City E, the NEOPLAN Skyliner and the MAN eTGE the best vehicles of the year, with the new MAN Lion’s City E picking up the City Bus of the Year in Spain award. The NEOPLAN Skyliner was selected as Coach of the Year in Spain, while the Light Commercial Vehicle of the Year in Spain title went to the MAN eTGE. “We’re delighted to have won these prestigious awards. Not least because this shows that we’re offering innovative, future-ready vehicles, which are perfectly tailored to customer and market needs,” said Marcus Gossen, Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus Iberia, while speaking at the ceremony. The event was well attended by policy-makers and government officials from both regional and national level, as well as senior executives in the freight and passenger transport sectors.

The National Transport Awards are organised by industry magazines Transporte 3 and Viajeros. “It’s hugely important to us that three of our vehicles won awards, especially as the judges were leading figures on the Spanish market, including a number of transportation industry customers,” Gossen said. “The fact that two awards went to electric vehicles demonstrates that our commitment to e-mobility is also a winner with customers. That gives us a massive boost, spurring us on to keep driving the advance of environmentally friendly drive systems.”

The winners: MAN Lion’s City E, MAN eTGE and NEOPLAN Skyliner

The 12-metre solo version of the MAN Lion’s City E can seat up to 88 passengers. The central motor is located on the rear axle. The solo bus’s all-electric driveline delivers 160 to 240 kW. The vehicles' power comes from their roof-mounted batteries, which have an installed capacity of 480 kWh. To meet those demands, MAN is able to rely on the highly advanced battery cell technology from the Group’s modular kit. What’s more, the sophisticated temperature management system ensures excellent availability regardless of the time of year. As a result, the Lion’s City E reliably achieves a range of 200 km, which can even rise to 270 km in favourable conditions.

MAN Truck & Bus presented its first electric production vehicle – the eTGE – at the IAA back in 2018. This electric powerhouse has an impressive range of around 115 km under WLTP testing, rising to between 120 km and 140 km in city driving conditions. Another of the vehicle’s major plus points is its extensive range of standard equipment, including front and rear park steering assist and side wall protection assist, MAN Media Van Navigation, LED main headlights and daytime driving lights, and a rear-view camera. It is already in use with the Berlin public transport corporation (Berliner Verkehrsgesellschaft) and Munich municipal utility (Stadtwerke München).

The NEOPLAN Skyliner has now been rolling off assembly lines for over 50 years. The internationally successful double-decker coach’s visual design has always been one of its striking features over the years. Clear lines and sharp edges in glass and sheet metal are combined with uncompromising aerodynamics that set new standards in the touring coach premium class. These consistent lines, which form NEOPLAN’s award-winning “Sharp Cut” design, are fundamental to the seventh-generation Skyliner. Alongside its use as a luxury touring coach, the NEOPLAN Skyliner is winning over more and more transport companies and municipalities as a vehicle for intercity journeys. With Class II accreditation, this coach offers enormous passenger capacity with a high level of comfort, such as on express coach routes between rural areas and regional centres, or as school transport. A range of assistance systems ensure maximum safety and efficiency. “This latest award for the Skyliner, coupled with the positive feedback we’ve received from our customers, offers powerful confirmation that we’ve made the right strategic decisions for the NEOPLAN brand. There’s no doubt that our efforts both within and beyond the Spanish market have paid off,” explains Rudi Kuchta, Head of Business Unit Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.

About the National Transport Awards

The National Transport Awards were founded more than 30 years ago by industry magazines “Transporte 3” and “Viajeros”. Every year, a panel of judges comprising more than 500 transportation industry leaders and motor vehicle experts selects the best vehicle to have entered the Spanish market in each of nine categories since the last award presentation. The decisions are based on a comprehensive analytical process, considering the vehicles’ safety, reliability, profitability and efficiency.