Commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus gave the pre-press conference in Berlin a sneak preview of the innovations it will be showcasing at IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018 in September.
Alongside the latest product highlights for trucks and coaches, MAN’s advances in the fields of electromobility, digitisation and autonomous vehicles will be the main focus of its exhibit at the industry trade fair, which takes place every two years in Hanover, Germany.
Alongside an all-electric distribution truck – the MAN eTGM – MAN will also be exhibiting the MAN eTGE, a battery electric version of the new MAN transporter, at IAA. In doing so, MAN is one of the first manufacturers to present all-electric solutions for the entire scope of city logistics applications between 3 and 26 tonnes.
When it comes to city buses too, things are certainly moving in the direction of electric power. For this reason, MAN has concluded development partnerships with Munich, Hamburg, Wolfsburg, Luxembourg and Paris with the aim of incorporating people’s everyday experiences into series development. A prototype of the MAN Lion’s City E will also be on show for the first time at this year’s IAA.
The next step is to introduce a demo fleet of electric buses into everyday use in various European cities before series production of the battery electric version of the new MAN Lion’s City can finally get under way. This extensive trial will ensure that the vehicles can meet the high reliability standards required for use in local public transport.
In previous years, it was mainly the new bus and truck models that characterised the exhibits showcased by MAN Truck & Bus at IAA. Yet recently, digital innovations have increasingly come into the mix. “MAN is changing from a manufacturer of commercial vehicles to a provider of intelligent and sustainable transport solutions,” states Joachim Drees, Chief Executive Officer of MAN Truck & Bus AG. It was for this reason that MAN founded the digital brand RIO in 2016 as a way of connecting the world of transport with the aid of an open, cloud-based platform and making it more economical and ecological. In order to underline this cross-manufacturer and open approach, RIO has been a separate, independent brand under the umbrella of Volkswagen Truck & Bus since 2017.
Building on this platform, MAN is already offering its customers initial digital solutions tailored to MAN vehicles under the name “MAN DigitalServices”. This means that in future MAN customers will be able to view vehicle data and the derived analyses in real time and wherever they are. As a result, customers will receive recommendations specifically tailored to them and their vehicles.
At IAA 2018, MAN is presenting further services for optimizing vehicle analysis and maintenance management. With RIO as a strategic partner, MAN customers are able to benefit from digital vehicle services. And at the same time, the operators of mixed fleets receive a standardized basis of digital logistics services for the entire fleet—irrespective of the vehicle brand.
