Germany – MAN Truck & Bus SE, a subsidiary of Traton based in Munich, Bavaria, has launched series production of its heavy-duty electric truck ranges, after several years of work to adapt the Munich plant and train staff to produce diesel and electric trucks on a single line.

Series production of the ‘eTGS’ and ‘eTGX’ ranges was officially launched on 16 June by Alexander Vlaskamp, chief executive officer of MAN, Michael Kobriger, executive board member for production, and Manfred Weber, member of the European parliament and chairman of the European People’s Party. On a mixed production line, MAN can produce approximately one hundred trucks per day with diesel and battery electric drivelines, taking around eight hours to build a truck from start to finish.

Two hundred e-trucks were already built and delivered to customers prior to the launch of series production. In total, MAN has received orders for around seven hundred trucks so far; it aims to build and deliver a total of one thousand (including the two hundred pre-series trucks) by the end of the year.

The company has invested a significant amount of time and money in launching series production of heavy electric trucks. Vlaskamp said that almost EUR400m has been invested in developing the trucks, and more than 5,000 employees have been trained to safely handle high-voltage components such as battery packs. Vlaskamp commented that “politicians must now set the right course with regard to infrastructure expansion and CO₂ pricing so that the ramp-up in e-mobility continues to gain momentum.”