How do you reflect on 2023 for MAN Truck & Bus?
MAN Truck & Bus achieved significant sales growth in all product areas in the financial year 2023. In total, the company delivered around 116,000 vehicles to customers, an increase of 37% compared to the previous year, which was still affected by supply bottlenecks and a coronavirus-related decline in demand in the bus segment. In addition, 11,600 engines were sold. After some very challenging years, we are back on the road to success.
In what way were you able to achieve this?
We were able to score points with our innovative product portfolio and our customer-oriented services, which is one of the reasons why the 2023 financial year brought us record sales in some cases. Thanks to a strong team performance across all areas of the company, we were able to meet the extremely high demand in the best possible way and deliver more vehicles and engines than we have for years.
Truck sales developed particularly positively, growing by 44% year-on-year to around 83,700 units. Bus sales also rose, increasing by 19% to around 5,700 units. All segments recorded strong growth, with the market for coaches in particular, which had slumped due to the pandemic, recovering significantly. Sales of coaches more than doubled to over 1,100 vehicles.
How is the electrification of the product range developing?
As MAN was able to win important tenders in the city bus business and the trend towards battery-electric vehicles continues unabated, sales of e-buses increased further. While 263 electric city buses were sold in 2022, this figure had already risen to 771 vehicles by 2023. Together with the market launch of the eTruck in October, MAN is thus continuing to systematically pursue its strategy of decarbonising its vehicle fleet. By 2030, half of all new MAN trucks and around 90% of all new city buses are to have a battery-electric drive. Work is also already underway on the electric coach of the future.
In order to achieve the 1.5-degree target of the Paris climate agreement, we as the commercial vehicle industry must do our part and sustainably reduce CO2 emissions. Electric trucks are the key to achieving this. As a commercial vehicle manufacturer, we have repositioned ourselves for this epochal transformation in recent years, making ourselves robust and future-proof to be able to handle the high investments in the new technology.
With the sale of our new eTrucks, we are now launching into a new era of climate-neutral transport.
What about MAN’s performance in the van and engine sectors?
The van business also increased significantly. MAN Truck & Bus even exceeded the pre-pandemic figures and delivered more vans than ever before. Around 26,600 vans were handed over to customers, which corresponds to an increase of 23%.
The external engine business can look back on the second most successful year in its history after 2014. More than half of our 11,600 engines were sold to customers in the agricultural sector – for use in tractors or combine harvesters, for example.
Friedrich Baumann, Chief Sales and Customer Solutions Officer at MAN Truck & Bus SE
