Major investment in battery production for MAN at Nuremberg
From the beginning of 2025, MAN Truck & Bus will manufacture high-voltage batteries for electric trucks and buses in large-scale production at its Nuremberg site backed by an investment of around €100million over the next five years. Production capacity will be expanded to more than 100,000 batteries per year.
MAN says that the investment in the development of battery production will secure 350 jobs at the site, and the decision was made in close cooperation between the company and employee representatives with the active support of Bavarian politicians.
Initially, the batteries, which along with the engines form the heart of electric commercial vehicle drives, will be manufactured manually at the MAN plant in Nuremberg in a small series production for about two and a half years. Construction of large-scale production is scheduled to start in mid-2023 and to be completed by the end of 2024.
MAN says it is thus laying the foundations for the large-scale industrialisation of electric drive systems for trucks and buses. The commercial vehicle manufacturer is receiving support from the Bavarian State Government, which has promised a contribution of around €30million to energy research and technology funding for the period 2023 to 2027. These funds will be used to conduct research in battery assembly, cell chemistry and development, battery safety, and ultimately battery recycling to ensure the sustainability of the propulsion mode.
Alexander Vlaskamp, chairman of the executive board of MAN Truck & Bus, says: “We are now starting to industrialise electromobility and continue on our path to climate-neutral mobility in commercial vehicles. It is a groundbreaking location and investment decision for the next decades.
“At the same time, it is part of MAN’s transformation into a provider of sustainable transport solutions. This now paves the way for a commercial vehicle e- cluster ‘made in Bavaria’, consisting of the production of e-trucks at MAN in Munich, battery production in Nuremberg, research & development at both locations and excellent cooperation with the respective colleges, universities and institutes.
“With our investment decision, we are securing around 350 jobs at the Nuremberg site and hundreds if not thousands of jobs in Germany.”
The Nuremberg plant has a long tradition with a history dating back around 180 years.