Electric buses in Hamburg on the road to success: VHH orders up to 100 MAN Lion’s City E

• VHH continues to expand zero-emission bus fleet and awards contract for up to 100 MAN electric buses
• Delivery of the first 48 vehicles is scheduled for the turn of the year 2023/2024
• The Lion’s City 12 E buses are each equipped with six battery packs and a particularly sustainable CO2 air-conditioning system
• Share of electric buses in Europe has been rising steadily for years 

Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH) is consistently moving towards a completely emission-free bus fleet. Since 2020, the company has been ordering only buses with zero-emission drives for its Hamburg service area. And with its latest order, it is also making a clear commitment to its sustainability goals: VHH is now ordering up to 100 electric buses from MAN Truck & Bus. With the framework agreement for the delivery of the Lion’s City 12 E, MAN was able to win four of eight lots in VHH’s current eBus tender. "We are very pleased that VHH has once again opted for buses from MAN. After all, it shows how satisfied the company is with our innovative and reliable electric vehicles," says Friedrich Baumann, Executive Board Member for Sales and Customer Solutions at MAN Truck & Bus.

VHH has already called for the first 48 eBuses from the new framework agreement with MAN. Delivery of the vehicles is scheduled for the turn of the year 2023/2024. "We have a clear vision in mind: in the 2030s, we want to be locally emission-free on the road in the Hamburg metropolitan region. Innovative vehicles are an important building block in this process. We are working very intensively with all the manufacturers who supply us. Topics such as availability and range have gained momentum. We are looking forward to continuing on this path together," says VHH Managing Director Dr Lorenz Kasch.

At the end of 2019, the transport company had ordered the first 17 MAN Lion’s City 12 E vehicles. The next order was for a further 20 electric buses. In 2022, VHH opted for MAN eBuses for the third time: the order included 30 electric solo buses and 6 electric articulated buses.

Passengers reach their destination comfortably, quietly and environmentally friendly

The MAN eBuses that have now been called up, with a length of 12 metres, have three doors that ensure passengers can get on and off quickly and comfortably. The vehicles are each equipped with six battery packs with a total output of 480 kilowatt hours. The particularly sustainable CO₂ air conditioning system ensures pleasant temperatures at all times of the year. It has several advantages: it is more environmentally friendly and at the same time significantly more efficient, which also has a positive effect on the range. The compact rooftop unit is operated with climate-neutral carbon dioxide (R744) instead of the conventional refrigerant R134a. "Thanks to their sustainability, comfort and generous space, the eBuses encourage people to use public transport. After all, they enable them to get to their destination in an environmentally friendly, comfortable and particularly quiet way," says Heinz Kiess, Head of Product Marketing Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.

Share of electric buses is rising steadily in Europe

But it is by no means "only" in Hamburg that eBuses are being well received. Last year, the market for electric buses in Europe grew by 26 percent to 4,152 registered units. In 2021, there were 3,282 units, which corresponds to a growth of 48 percent compared to 2020. A total of 30 percent of the European city bus market is now emission-free. (Source: Chatrou CME Solutions).

It is also making a significant contribution to the success of electromobility in many European cities: the MAN Lion’s City E. The MAN all-electric bus went into series production in 2020 and to date a total of well over 1,000 orders have been received. Operators, bus drivers and passengers are enthusiastic about the range, reliability, comfort and sustainability of the locally emission-free vehicle. Last year, in 2022, the share of eBuses sold was around twelve percent of the city buses sold by MAN in Europe (EU 27+3). "However, our goal is quite clearly to put even more electric buses on the road: By 2025, half of our new city buses will be powered locally emission-free. And we expect that just five years later, 90 per cent of our buses will be battery-powered," says Kiess. "The feedback from the market and from experts is excellent."

MAN Lion’s City E named "Bus of the Year 2023"

This is how the international "Bus and Coach of the Year" jury chose the eBus as "Bus of the Year 2023". "MAN has focused on electromobility from the very first design sketch and translated it into a product suitable for everyday use. The result is not a ‚diesel bus converted to electric drive‘ – everything simply fits together," said jury president Tom Terjesen. Another outstanding aspect was the fact that the experts at MAN Truck & Bus are continuously working on the further development and improvement of the all-electric Lion’s City E. Their goal: to support public transport operators in their daily work in the best possible way with sophisticated technology and individual solutions.