MAN Truck & Bus will be testing a prototype electric semitrailer tractor unit with 9 of Austria’s largest logistics companies, in partnership with the Council for Sustainable Logistics (CNL). The test vehicles, which have gross weights of 12 to 26 tons, will be used in medium and heavy distribution transport beginning at the end of 2017.

“The CNL companies will test out these vehicles in daily use,” says Joachim Drees, Chairman of the Board of MAN. The results from the real-world tests will help MAN to develop a product portfolio of electrically driven trucks.

“The partnership with CNL offers MAN the ideal opportunity to further develop existing technology for series production using the practical experiences of members in the consortium. It will also help us gear our new product portfolio to customers’ requirements,” adds Dr Carsten Intra, a member of the MAN Executive Board.

“MAN has a clear roadmap for its trucks and buses when it comes to electromobility. We are introducing you to our first eTruck here today, and by the end of the year you will be seeing it on our streets,” says Joachim Drees. “At the end of 2019 we will be going into series production for an all-electric city bus, with series production of the eTruck to begin in early 2021. We will be using a flexible modular assembly of drive components that we can use for different applications.”

MAN presented its Metropolis concept vehicle in 2012, and showed a further development of the concept in 2016. The MAN City-Truck concept vehicle, designed for applications in night-shift deliveries to city center locations, is powered by a 250 kW electric motor which delivers 2,700 Nm of torque to the rear axle via a propshaft, with no gearbox. Lithium-ion batteries from the Volkswagen Group are arranged under the driver’s cab above the front axle. The vehicle offers a range of 200 kilometers, and has the same payload as a legacy diesel tractor from MAN’s TGS model range.

Source: MAN Truck & Bus