MAN embraces electric

MAN, the company which once incorporated the name of compression-ignition engine inventor Rudolf Diesel in its own logo, has made it plain that its future lies with electric power.

Speaking at a ‘virtual’ press conference organised in lieu of the Covid-cancelled IAA Show, the company’s director of research and development Frederik Zohm said the company aimed to be CO2 neutral by 2050.

“We are going full-throttle. In 2024, our new truck range will be electric,” he claimed, pointing out that “electrification starts in the city, and we have already sold 30 e-trucks to customers.”

Sales director Göran Nyberg said that he expected 60 per cent of freight transport in cities and 40 per cent of long-haul transport to be emissions-free by 2030.

Mr Zohm added that the new truck ranges presented by MAN earlier in the year were prepared for automation, and he expected this to be achievable by the end of the decade.

He pointed to features on the new truck, such as Lane Return Assist, which pulled the truck back in lane “in a human way” if it deviated from its chosen lane on the highway, and Traffic Jam Assist, which kept the truck a safe distance.

Additionally, the trucks could be fitted with a radar-based turn-assistant which would warn if a cyclist ventured into a truck’s blindspot when it was making a turn. The system was already compliant with a standard due to be introduced in 2024, and its fitment was subsidised by the German government.