MAN Truck & Bus was far from the first to produce electric buses, but now the company has reached more than 700 ordered units since the start of sales in 2020.

A lot is happening on the electric bus front in Europe. Last year, almost 60 per cent of new city buses had alternative propulsion, and the share of electric buses increased to almost 22 per cent. MAN’s city buses must be battery-electric, says Rudi Kuchta, head of the bus business area.

A total of 14,990 city buses were registered in Europe in 2021, defined as EU27 plus the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Of these, 59.4 percent had alternative operation, i.e. gas, battery electric or hydrogen. 3,282 electric buses were registered, which is 21.7 percent. This is due to strong growth from 14.8 percent before.

The outlook for the future is also good. The latest major order is 53 electric buses to Hamburg, divided into both solo buses and articulated buses.

Scandinavia

But MAN is also in a good position in the Scandinavian market. 25 Lion’s City 12 E has recently found its way to Copenhagen. Another 12 MAN electric buses will go to another Danish operator. In Sweden, the operator Keolis has ordered a total of no less than 75 MAN Lion’s City 18. 60 of these go in the Gothenburg area and the rest in Stockholm. Another 18 articulated buses will eventually go to Uppsala. There is also an option agreement for a further 65 buses. 22 Lion’s City E is already in operation in Malmö.