The very first visit to Germany took the new EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, to MAN Truck & Bus in Munich. MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp and Chief Technology Officer Dr Frederik Zohm spoke with EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas about the future topics of the transport sector: electrification, automatisation and digitalisation. And about the EU’s action plan to keep Europe’s vehicle manufacturers competitive. MAN CEO Alexander Vlas-kamp described the plan as a ‘step in the right direction’, but called for an even faster expansion of the charging infrastructure and a rethink of CO2 regulation.
The European Union aims to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from road freight transport and at the same time strengthen the automotive industry as an important economic factor on the continent. At the beginning of March, Apostolos Tzitzikostas presented an action plan aimed at keeping Europe’s vehicle manufacturers innovative and competitive. The most important points of the action plan include improving the framework conditions for sustainable and networked mobility. A particular focus is the faster development of charging infrastructure for heavy commercial vehicles throughout Europe.
MAN is actively taking up this challenge: ‘We welcome the EU’s action plan and the measures to support the commercial vehicle industry. This is a step in the right direction,‘ said MAN CEO Alexander Vlas-kamp during Tzitzikostas’ visit to Munich on 3 April. ‘At the same time, we have done our homework ourselves and have already initiated the biggest transformation process ever seen in our company.’ As more than 95 per cent of MAN’s greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the use of newly sold vehicles, Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) offer the company the greatest leverage for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Comprehensive portfolio of eTrucks and eBuses
MAN has been offering fully electric buses for years and, since 2024, a complete total weight portfolio of electric trucks with 12 to 42 tonnes with daily ranges of up to 800 kilometres. The first fleet of heavy-duty eTrucks with around 120 vehicles has already covered 500,000 kilometres in customer use, saving around 400 tonnes of CO2 compared to diesel trucks. Electric buses from MAN have been a feature of many European cities for years: More than 2,000 vehicles are on the roads, making public transport more sustainable. And the first fully electrically powered MAN bus is due to go into service this year.
Rethinking CO2 regulation required
Vlaskamp described the current CO2 regulation as one of the biggest current problems in the commercial vehicle industry. ‘It sets extremely ambitious targets and threatens vehicle manufacturers with disproportionate penalties if they fail to meet them – penalties that are 25 times higher than in the passenger car sector,’ said MAN CEO Vlaskamp. ‘These penalties would jeopardise the competitiveness of our industry, prevent urgently needed investment in innovation and therefore cost many jobs in Europe in the medium term. We are clearly committed to the goal of reducing emissions from the new vehicle fleet by 45 per cent by 2030. However, we need a reassessment of CO2 regulation as soon as possible. Legislation must recognise that it is no longer in our hands as manufacturers whether we achieve the climate targets or not. We have done our homework, but we may still be penalised.’
Vlaskamp pointed out that the specified fleet limits can only be adhered to if the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is expanded across the whole of Europe. ‘By 2030, we will need around 50,000 charging points across Europe, including 30,000 with a charging capacity in the megawatt range. A further 300,000 charging points in depots will also be needed,’ says Vlaskamp. There are currently only 1,200 charging points available for commercial vehicles in Europe. MAN therefore believes that it is urgently necessary to quickly implement the required acceleration of the network expansion.
MAN is a pioneer in grid expansion
At the same time, MAN, as part of the TRATON GROUP, is already involved in the Milence joint venture together with the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck, which will establish at least 1,700 high-performance and megawatt charging points for commercial vehicles across Europe by 2027. And in collaboration with the energy supplier E.ON, MAN is building the largest network of truck charging stations in Europe with around 170 locations and around 400 charging points for public charging.
Highly automated hub-to-hub transport from 2030
Freight volumes and, in particular, transport between logistics hubs – such as the warehouses of large online department stores – are growing steadily. The use of autonomous lorries in this so-called hub-to-hub traffic is particularly suitable for this. The lorries always drive, are as efficient as possible and can contribute to road safety. MAN has therefore been intensively driving forward the development for the use of autonomous trucks in logistics hubs and for hub-to-hub traffic on motorways for some time and in April 2024 was the first commercial vehicle manufacturer to receive a Level 4 test permit based on the law on autonomous driving on German motorways.
In addition to trucks, buses can also benefit from highly automated driving. MAN has also already launched various pilot projects in this area. For example, the operation of highly automated modes of transport in the public transport system is being trialled as part of MINGA (Munich’s automated local transport with ridepooling, solo bus and bus platoons).
SOURCE: MAN Truck & Bus
