- ‘Electric trucks are the key to making our land transport sustainable,’ says Simon Motter, Head of Volkswagen Group Logistics.
- Freight forwarder Nanno Janssen: ‘Long-distance transport with eTrucks is already possible today.’
- MAN eTruck with modular battery system covers more than 80% of all truck applications: including distribution, construction and long-distance transport, as well as automotive logistics
- The transformation is progressing: over 1,000 eTrucks ordered from MAN.
- ‘The charging infrastructure needs a boost through faster approvals and the expansion of the power grids,’ says MAN Sales Director Friedrich Baumann.
Volkswagen Group Logistics and MAN Truck & Bus want to jointly drive forward the electrification of road freight transport. To this end, the two companies invited international logistics companies, charging park operators, charging station manufacturers and customers with experience in operating eTrucks to the MAN Truck Forum on 5 November this year. The motto of the event was: ‘Together for sustainable logistics, together for zero emissions.’
Simon Motter, Head of Volkswagen Group Logistics: “In Group Logistics, we are continuously working to minimise the environmental impact of our transport operations. In addition to optimising our processes, our cross-brand initiative goTozero impact logistics focuses on sustainable technologies and energies as key levers for greater climate protection. In land transport in particular, the CO₂ emissions of diesel trucks are particularly high in relation to transport performance. That is why we see battery-electric vehicles as the most suitable technology for a more climate-friendly commercial vehicle fleet. Cooperation both within the Group and with our partners is crucial: our common goal is to protect the climate and conserve resources.”
Automotive supplier logistics is characterised by a high degree of standardisation. In many cases, load carriers with a height of one metre are used here. A loading space height of a good three metres therefore allows three such load carriers to be stacked on top of each other. This requires trucks with a particularly low fifth-wheel height, known as ‘lowliners’ or ‘ultra-tractors’. Since the launch of its battery-electric eTGX and eTGS models in October 2023, MAN has been the only manufacturer to offer lowliner trucks.
Since early 2025, MAN electric trucks have reliably covered over five million kilometres in daily use in the fleets of major European logistics service providers. This underlines the practical suitability of the vehicles for a variety of transport tasks. MAN’s eTruck generation features a modular battery system that allows customers to choose between range and payload. Over 80% of all truck applications, from construction site and swap body transport to automotive logistics, can be covered by MAN eTrucks.
‘The first customers have already driven well over 100,000 kilometres with an MAN eTGX in just over a year. This shows that the battery trucks are reliable and practical. And more and more customers are coming to the same conclusion: we currently have around 1,000 orders for our eTrucks, and the trend is rising,’ explains Friedrich Baumann, MAN Executive Board Member for Sales and Customer Solutions. ‘In Germany, we have extended the toll exemption for zero-emission trucks until 2031. This is an important signal that gives our customers the necessary predictability. However, small and medium-sized enterprises need to be given more support in the form of financing programmes. The expansion of the charging infrastructure also needs further impetus in the form of faster approval procedures and the expansion of the electricity grids,’ adds the MAN Sales Director. The financing programmes are designed to enable economically sound but often not very capital-rich companies to make the transition, for example through loans or guarantees.
The Nanno Janssen haulage company from Leer already has 35 battery-electric trucks in its fleet and more eTrucks on the way, including 15 MAN eTGX models. Managing Director Nanno Janssen reports on practical experience at the MAN Truck Forum in Munich: ‘Long-distance transport with electric lorries is already possible today in Europe. Now it’s a matter of scaling up the technology.’
Volkswagen Group Logistics and MAN organised the E-Experience Event so that logistics companies, commercial vehicle manufacturers, shippers and charging infrastructure providers could work together to dispel existing reservations and find solutions for sustainable freight transport. After all, making the transition to more climate-friendly drive systems a reality across Europe requires the efforts of all stakeholders. It can only be done together.
