MAN Truck & Bus has officially turned the page to a new chapter in the company’s storied history and has completed the delivery of its fully electric heavy-duty trucks.
MAN Board Member for Sales Freidrich Baumann handed over the first 40-tonne eTGX to automotive supplier Dräxlmaier Group, which will use its new vehicle to transport batteries for the Porsche Macan Electric to the Porsche plant in the German city of Leipzig.
The truck will also be charged with fully renewable sources on the Dräxlmaier site. A renewable cycle MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp labels as “a real electric success story”.
“This is a milestone in our company’s history,” Vlaskamp says.
“MAN presented the first diesel truck 100 years ago, now we are entering a new electric era.
“We are very pleased about this trust in MAN. After years of planning, development and many tens of thousands of kilometres of test drives, we are finally getting started.”
The eTGX used by Dräxlmaier has 450HP (330kW) and a battery capacity of 534 kW. It has a charging capacity of up to 375 kW via CCS and a fifth-wheel height of 950mm. MAN is the only manufacturer to produce an electric low-loader semitrailer tractor as standard.
It also offers the shortest wheelbase in its class, making it compatible with all types of trailer.
The vehicle, while being used by Dräxlmaier, has been purchased by Business Fleet Services (BFS) and commissioned by Dräxlmaier. BFS is the largest MAN commercial vehicle rental company in Europe.
“As the largest rental company for MAN commercial vehicles in Europe, we are very pleased to be part of this historic milestone and to usher in the new electric era together with MAN and our customers,” BFS Managing Director Jan Plieninger says.
Baumann says the delivery of this first electric truck is the first step in an aggressive pursuit of fleet decarbonisation.
“Together with the eTGL, the eTruck’s ‘little brother’, which will be presented at the IAA 2024, MAN now offers a complete portfolio of electric trucks from 12 to 50 tonnes,” he says.
“We expect by 2030 around half of all MAN trucks delivered will be battery electric.”
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