MAN Truck & Bus officially started its battery production at the Nuremberg production site. During the inauguration, MAN announced also the next expansion stage of the site in Nuremberg with an extra investment of 150 million euros in the coming years. Untill now the company invested 100 million euros in the site for production of the battery packs. With the extra investment MAN will also start production of battery cells for the next battery generation. Including efforts in the further development of diesel technology MAN invests half a billion euros which will secure around 400 jobs.
Of the announced additional investments totalling around 150 million euros, around 18 million euros will be subsidised. Both the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) and the Free State of Bavaria are providing the funding. In addition, the Free State of Bavaria is funding the further development of and research into battery technology at the MAN site in Nuremberg with around 30 million euros. These funds will be used for research in areas such as battery assembly, cell chemistry and ageing as well as battery safety.
With the investments around 400 jobs in the technology of the future and further advance the transformation of the site will be secured, according to MAN. The employees working in battery production were previously employed in the areas of engine assembly, foundry or logistics. ‘We are very proud of what we have created here in Nuremberg and what will continue to be created. We have also recently stepped up our efforts in the further development of state-of-the-art diesel technology. This brings the total investment
in Nuremberg to half a billion euros. This is a clear commitment to Bavaria and Germany as a centre of innovation’, says MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp. Minister President Dr. Markus Söder emphasized: “MAN has successfully transformed itself from a former site for pure diesel engines into a state-of-the-art battery production site for electric trucks and buses. Following initial funding of 30 million euros in 2022 for research and development, the Free State is supporting the future production of battery modules with almost six million euros.” The start of battery production is already the second new production line to be opened in Nuremberg this year. The production of the latest generation of MAN diesel engines, which are used in the new D30 PowerLion driveline, is also an investment in the future and secures many jobs at the site. MAN has invested around 250 million euros in this project.
MAN currently assumes that almost half of the trucks in Europe and around 90 per cent of city buses will be delivered with zero-emission drive systems by 2030. In the current expansion stage, 50,000 battery packs can be produced per year in Nuremberg. However, the new M50 building is designed to be able to produce 100,000 units per year. (Photo above: At the start of battery series production at the Nuremberg site: Minister of State Hubert Aiwanger, Michael Kobriger, MAN Executive Board Member for Production and Logistics, MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp, Bavarian Minister President Dr. Markus Söder, Markus Wansch, Chairman of the Works Council at the Nuremberg site and Dr. Frederik Zohm, MAN Executive Board Member for Research and Development.)