European MAN partners invest in service and charging network
MAN Truck & Bus looks set to invest significantly more in the development of its service network by 2030 than previously planned. Thanks to dealers and partners, a total of around €700m will now flow into the further expansion and development of the European service and sales network by the end of 2030.
In spring, MAN announced plans to invest €300 million euros in its own network. Now, MAN’s dealers, service partners and importers are also planning to invest around €400m in their MAN service locations across Europe. Around one-third of the planned investments will specifically flow into electromobility and digitalisation – ranging from high-voltage training for service staff to battery repair centres and the establishment of publicly accessible charging points at MAN branches.
“The scale of these investments is unprecedented in MAN’s history,” emphasises Friedrich Baumann, Board Member for Sales and Customer Solutions at MAN. “This is a powerful programme from MAN and its partners, who, through their planned additional commitment, are clearly underlining their confidence in our products and the brand as a whole. Our customers will benefit from this, and we will be able to support them with even better service in the future.”
Charging network expansion in cooperation with E.On
It’s also been confirmed that the charging network expansion embedded in the programme is being carried out in cooperation with energy company E.On. Within the project, which was first announced in 2024, a large number of MAN service branches will be equipped with publicly accessible charging points for electric trucks. In total, the partners aim for up to 400 charging points at up to 170 locations across Europe, including up to 125 sites in Germany alone. MAN has already named Berlin-Wildau, Fürstenwalde and Karlsfeld in Germany, as well as Eugendorf in Austria and Čestlice in the Czech Republic, as operational locations. “Further stations will be opened in various markets later this year,” the manufacturer stated in spring, without providing further details at the time.
Fundamentally, MAN makes it clear that its investment in the European service network is intended to further strengthen customer loyalty. The €300 million it is set to invest by 2030 represent an unprecedented budget initiative for the company. Interestingly, MAN already has a fairly dense network of service and sales locations: across Europe, there are around 1,200 MAN-owned and partner businesses employing approximately 7,000 people at MAN-operated facilities. Additionally, through the breakdown and mobility service MAN Mobile24, more than 2,000 MAN service points and cooperation partners ensure close customer support. In Germany alone, the MAN service network comprises over 340 of its own and partner service locations.
“Our strong Network Is a Competitive Advantage”
Explaining why MAN is investing so heavily in the service network despite its strict cost-cutting measures and job reductions, Friedrich Baumann stated in spring: “A strong brand needs a strong service network. We have that – and we are now making it even stronger. Alongside our sales team, our workshops are our public face for our customers. Our strong network is a competitive advantage. We want to expand it further. That is why we are investing heavily here over the next few years, because the combination of product, service, and good quality will become even more important in the coming years, especially against the backdrop of new competitors.”
The new competitors likely include the announced Chinese brands in the truck sector, many of which have also registered for the IAA Transportation in two weeks. In the bus sector, brands like Yutong and BYD have already been competitive for some time. Baumann therefore wants MAN to “set ourselves apart even more clearly and establish ourselves as a sustainable player.” He added: “The commercial vehicle business is significantly more complex and service-intensive than the passenger car business. The daily availability of vehicles is essential for our customers’ businesses. To be successful, we need to be very close to our customers and offer top-notch service.”
MAN is also translating its targeted service added value into specific goals: for example, it aims for almost 80 per cent of customers to have a travel time of under 30 minutes to the nearest MAN service location in the future. The most important markets where this goal is to be prioritised and achieved before 2030 include Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Poland and Turkey. In particularly logistics-intensive regions, this goal will also be achieved by establishing new locations. Baumann stated: “In these countries, we open an average of seven new branches per year.”
The first locations for new branches are now also finalised: In Portugal, MAN recently broke ground near Lisbon for the construction of a new MAN-owned sales and service branch. Additionally, a new location in Lithuania is set to open soon: “Long-standing MAN partner Adampolis Group will open one of the largest sales and service locations for MAN vehicles anywhere in Europe at its Kaunas side later this year,” the company stated.