GERMANY
MAN Truck & Bus is to offer an e-bus chassis for the global market, which will be based on the technology already in use in its Lion’s City E electric bus. The model is already in service in many European countries, MAN having received over 1,000 orders to date. MAN says the first prototypes will be delivered as early as 2023, with series production to start in 2024.
With demand for electric and zero-emission buses expected to continue to rise in the coming years, reaching over 80% of the global market by 2040, MAN says it intends to offer the chassis worldwide. “To meet this demand and make an important contribution in terms of sustainable mobility, we are now offering the MAN electric bus solution for international markets outside Europe with our e-bus chassis,” said Rudi Kuchta, Head of Business Unit Bus at MAN Truck & Bus, adding: “With the chassis, we are giving bodybuilders from all over the world the perfect basis for their fully electric models.”
For the development and market launch of the e-bus chassis, MAN is relying on the knowledge and expertise already built up with the Lion’s City E. “In addition, we are relying on our long-standing partnerships and are working intensively with our global network of bodybuilders so that we can also serve markets in Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand in the best possible way,” added Rudi.
The chassis will be produced at MAN’s Polish plant in Starachowice, where the Lion’s City E is also manufactured. “In recent years, our employees in development and production have gained valuable experience around our e-bus and its series production. We are naturally incorporating this into the production of our new e-bus chassis, from which our customers will benefit significantly.”
Initially MAN will offer the electric chassis as a two-axle version for use as low-floor, low-entry and high-floor intercity buses. “To ensure that the e-bus chassis can be used everywhere, it will be available as a left- and right-hand drive variant,” said Barbaros Oktay, Head of Bus Engineering at MAN Truck & Bus, adding: “This is particularly interesting for countries where left-hand traffic prevails and MAN buses already dominate the road scene. These include Singapore, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, among others.”
Technology used will be familiar to operators of the Lion’s City E, and the new chassis will share its electric central motor on the rear axle and battery technology from the Volkswagen Group. “Thanks to this technology, which has already proven itself in the field, and our many years of experience in chassis technology, we can offer our customers an innovative and efficient e-mobility solution for urban and intercity transport,” said Barbaros. “Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for all our customers to get started with electromobility. And we can do this with a product that is safe, reliable, has a long range and is extremely flexible.”
