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With the realisation that electro-mobility is the future of goods transport in towns and cities across the globe now, MAN Truck & Bus said it has partnered an Austrian consortium, the Council for Sustainable Logistics (CNL), on the joint development and testing of fully electrically driven trucks with the aim of deploying nine fully electrically-driven MAN distribution trucks on the road daily by the end of 2017.
Accordingly, the two organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding at the MAN plant in Steyr in the presence of Austria’s Federal Chancellor, Christian Kern, and the Austrian Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology, Jörg Leichtfried. This is to ensure that by the end of 2017, nine fully-electrically driven MAN distribution trucks will be tested in everyday operations by the foodstores Hofer, Spar and REWE, METRO, the Stiegl brewery, the motor-vehicle manufacturer Magna Steyr and the logistics companies Schachinger, Quehenberger and Gebrüder Weiss. The vehicles, according to a statement obtained by AUTO REPORT AFRICA, will be developed at the MAN plant in Steyr and produced at the Truck Modification Centre there.
The statement said the results of the trials will be incorporated in subsequent development aimed at series production. A first small run is scheduled to be produced at Steyr at the end of 2018, and in early 2021, MAN will start series production of electrically powered trucks for urban distribution. Starting at the end of 2019 MAN will also commence series production of fully electrically driven city buses, thus making a further important contribution to the reduction of exhaust gases and noise in urban areas.
“Electromobility is the future of goods transport in towns and cities,” Joachim Drees, Chairman of the Executive Boards of MAN Truck & Bus and MAN SE, said. “The advantages of this type of drive are obvious: electrically powered trucks supply supermarkets or drinks retailers without emissions and almost without noise. Thanks to our development partnership with CNL we can now gather valuable practical experience that will help us become a leading manufacturer of e-trucks. The results will also be of great value for future development projects within the Volkswagen Truck & Bus Group. In return we will benefit from the competence of the Group in electrics, for example in battery technology.”
Minister Jörg Leichtfried pointed out: “We want to make traffic cleaner and healthier. That is why we rely on electric mobility and renewable energy. We are promoting research and development in this area, building a dense network of charging stations, and providing support in the purchase of e-cars. The fact that MAN has started to build e-trucks in Austria shows that we are a pioneer in e-mobility.”
The CNL is an initiative unique in Europe. Fifteen of the largest Austrian companies from the retail, logistics and production sectors have united to take joint steps in the area of sustainable logistics. The CNL is domiciled at the Centre for Global Change and Sustainability at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna.
