MAN to offer the electric bus chassis on the global market starting in 2024

MAN “will in future be offering an electric bus chassis for the global market“, the group announces. It’ll be based on technologies from the Lion’s City E, for which a total of over 1,000 orders have been received to date (the vehicle will be in roadshow outside the old continent beginning with 2023).

First prototypes of MAN electric bus chassis are to be delivered in 2023, series production is scheduled to start in 2024. The eBus chassis will be produced at MAN’s Polish plant in Starachowice, where the Lion’s City E is also manufactured.

MAN will be offering also LFP battery technology beyond the NMC formula offered so far in Europe (supplier of LFP batteries is not mentioned). The MAN Lion’s City E achieved an over 500 km mileage during a test in Germany.

MAN electric bus chassis for the global market

“We are now offering the MAN electric bus solution for international markets outside Europe with our eBus chassis,” says Rudi Kuchta, Head of Business Unit Bus at MAN Truck & Bus, adding, “With the chassis, we are giving bodybuilders from all over the world the perfect basis for their fully electric models.”

For the development and market launch of the eBus chassis, MAN is relying on the knowledge and expertise already built up with the Lion’s City E. “In addition, we are relying on our long-standing partnerships and are working intensively with our global network of bodybuilders so that we can also serve markets in Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand in the best possible way,” says Kuchta.

MAN e-bus chassis: Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania

As a first step, MAN adds it will offer the eBus chassis as a two-axle version for use as a low-floor, low-entry and intercity bus (high floor). “To ensure that the eBus chassis can be used everywhere, it will be available as a left-handed and right-handed variant,” says Barbaros Oktay, Head of Bus Engineering at MAN Truck & Bus, adding, “This is particularly interesting for countries where left-handed traffic prevails and MAN buses already dominate the road scene. These include Singapore, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, among others.”

When it comes to the components for the eBus chassis, MAN relies on technology from the Lion’s City E – above all the electric central motor on the rear axle and reliable battery technology from the Volkswagen Group. “Thanks to this technology, which has already proven itself in the field, and our many years of experience in chassis technology, we can offer our customers an innovative and efficient eMobility solution for urban and intercity transport,” says Oktay.

What is interesting, MAN will be offering also LFP battery technology beyond the NMC formula offered so far in Europe (supplier of LFP batteries is not mentioned). “Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for all our customers to get started with electromobility. And we can do this with a product that is safe, reliable, has a long range and is extremely flexible,” Oktay sums up.

MAN electric bus chassis within the NewMAN strategy

The introduction of the eBus chassis is another important and consistent step for MAN Truck & Bus with regard to the NewMAN strategy – and thus toward the future. The aim is to play a key role in shaping the mobility of tomorrow. “In doing so, we are clearly focusing on CO₂-free driving, a core element of our strategy,” says Rudi Kuchta, adding, “Our path leads from low emission to no emission. To achieve this, we are relying entirely on electric mobility in the city bus segment with the Lion’s City E.”