Business with electric buses is picking up significantly at MAN Truck & Bus. More than 700 MAN electric buses have already been ordered since the Lion’s City E went on sale. The latest order for a total of 53 of the all-electric city buses has now come from Hamburg. However, several of the eBuses are already in use – throughout Europe.
MAN electric buses are increasingly in demand. Since the sales launch of the Lion’s City E in 2020, MAN has signed contracts with customers for the delivery of more than 700 electric buses. In the past fiscal year, the Lion’s City E sold by MAN in Europe accounted for around 5.5 percent of all the more than 2,400 MAN city buses. In Germany, this puts MAN in third place in terms of eBuses registered in 2021. “However, our goal is quite clearly to put even more electric buses on the road: By 2025, half of our new city buses will be alternatively powered. And we expect that just five years later – in 2030 – 90 percent of our city buses will be battery-powered,” says Rudi Kuchta, Head of Business Unit Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.
MAN recently received two orders for a total of 53 eBuses from Hamburg. Hamburger Hochbahn AG, for example, ordered electric buses from MAN for the first time, with a total of 17 MAN Lion’s City 18 E vehicles. The first vehicles will be delivered this year. The second order from Hamburg comes from Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH, which has thus opted for MAN eBuses for the third time. The current order comprises 30 solo eBuses and 6 articulated eBuses. Delivery of the first buses is scheduled for this year.
However, many more ordered eBuses will also be delivered soon. Some of them are already in use – such as the 39 eBuses of VAG Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg. The company initially ordered 15 and then, as part of a follow-up order, a further 13 Lion’s City 18 E and 11 Lion’s City 12 E from MAN Truck & Bus. A total of 15 MAN eBuses will also be on the road in Zurich, Switzerland, on the city’s standard bus routes from fall 2022. Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) is pursuing a consistent electric bus strategy and has opted for the Lion’s City 12 E as part of this strategy.
MAN Lion’s City E impresses in Scandinavia
MAN eBuses have also been operating in Copenhagen since February: the 25 Lion’s City 12 E buses are used on Copenhagen’s central bus route 7A, which carries more than 4.3 million passengers every year. To make urban transport as sustainable as possible, the city buses are charged exclusively with green electricity. Twelve more eBuses were also recently delivered to Vikingbus in Odder. This means that 37 electric buses are now making their rounds on Danish roads.
In neighboring Sweden, too, the MAN Lion’s City E will ensure sustainable mobility in the future. KEOLIS has ordered a total of 75 MAN Lion’s City 18 E for Sweden: 60 electric MAN articulated buses will go to Gothenburg and 15 to Stockholm. A further 12 MAN Lion’s City 18 E will also soon be operating in Uppsala, Sweden. The framework agreement with Gamla Uppsala Buss includes an option for a further 65 electric buses – 45 of them Lion’s City 18 E and 20 Lion’s City 12 E solo buses. In addition, 22 Lion’s City E buses in the coastal city of Malmö in the southern Swedish region of Skåne demonstrate how excellently they can cope with urban traffic and how easily they can be integrated into existing operations. They are operated by Nobina Sverige AB. “There is enormous international interest in forward-looking drive technology,” says Kuchta.
Sophisticated technology, long range
MAN has completed its new generation of city buses with the all-electric MAN Lion’s City E, a zero-emission variant. Series production of the 12-meter solo version started in October 2020 at MAN’s Polish plant in Starachowice. The all-electric Lion’s City 18 E articulated bus went into series production in April 2021. This offers space for up to 130 passengers, the solo bus for up to 88 passengers. In terms of drive, MAN relies on a central motor on the rear axle in its eBus, or two central motors on the second and third axles in the articulated bus, which benefits driving performance. The energy for the all-electric powertrain comes from the batteries on the vehicle roof. The electric buses offer a range of up to 350 kilometers under favorable conditions over the entire service life of the batteries.
SOURCE: MAN Truck & Bus
