MAN Truck & Bus has soled 35% moren buses in the previous 9 months of this year. Also the German truck and bus manufacturer has 100 signed a contract with South Africa's Paruk Group for the delivery of 100 fully electric city buses. This is MAN's largest eBus order outside Europe to date. It says it is "a milestone for sustainable mobility worldwide".
MAN Truck & Bus sold 1,090 fully electric city buses and trucks in the first nine months representing an increase of 184% compared to the same period last year. Overall truck sales were down 5% in the first nine months compared with the previous year, but bus sales rose by a significant 35% with 4,898 units and van sales by 18%. The 100 fully electric MAN city buses ordered by the South African Paruk Group are "Lion's Explorer E" and are based on the Lion's Chassis E, which was developed specifically for international markets. The chassis are manufactured at the MAN plant in Pinetown in South Africa, while the bodies are built at the Olifantsfontein plant. “This order demonstrates the strategic importance of our international chassis business,” says Barbaros Oktay, Head of Bus at MAN Truck & Bus. The Lion's Explorer E, with a length of 12 meters, is designed as a high-floor vehicle. The four battery packs, each with a capacity of 80 kWh,
are located between the axles under the floor. Delivery of the fleet will begin in 2026 and will be completed by the end of 2027. “We operate one of the largest MAN bus fleets globally. Our move from diesel to electric isn’t just a technological shift but a promise to our continued focus on sustainable transport solutions in the region,” says Mohmed Paruk, owner of the Paruk Group, which operates primarily in South Africa. The company's fleet comprises around 2,000 buses, of which around 1,500 are MAN vehicles. MAN delivered the first fully electric bus for the African market in Cape Town in 2023. “We are proud to not only bring the first MAN eBuses on the African roads, but to be the first manufacturer in the South African automotive industry to localize the production of an electric vehicle,” says Jan Aichinger, Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus South Africa.