MAN Truck & Bus

MAN at a glance

MAN Truck & Bus is one of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers; it provides transport solutions and has an annual turnover of over 9.5 billion euros (2020). Its product portfolio includes vans, trucks, buses, diesel and gas engines and a range of services relating to the transport of passengers and goods. MAN Truck & Bus is a TRATON SE company.

01 Our products and services

Our portfolio extends from vans weighing a total of 3.0 to 5.5 tons, trucks in the 7.49 to 44 ton total weight range to heavy special-purpose vehicles with a total towing weight of up to 250 tonnes. This makes MAN a full-range provider covering all weight classes. The company also produces urban and intercity buses, coaches and bus chassis under the MAN brand as well as van-based minibuses and luxury coaches under the NEOPLAN brand. Our portfolio is rounded off by industrial engines for marine, on-road and off-road applications as well as comprehensive services relating to mobility.

Products

02 Our financial year

MAN Truck & Bus has achieved its most recently forecast sales and turnover targets. The MAN TGE product line made a significant contribution to this achievement. Truck sales (> 6 t) declined by 29% compared to the previous year. This decline was apparent across almost all regions. Turnover reduced by 13% compared to last year, so the after-sales business was also lower at -5%. It was possible to attain the most recently forecast operating result. A volume-related decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated temporary plant closures in the first half of 2020 had a negative impact on the originally forecast operating result. It was not possible to counteract this despite various cost reduction measures.

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Positive development

Turnover in the engines business saw a very sharp increase.

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Operating result 2020

Our operating profit amounted to -553 million euros (371 million euros) and was therefore significantly below the positive value of the same period in the previous year, despite various cost reduction measures.

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Positive development

Turnover in the engines business saw a very sharp increase.

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Positive development

Turnover in the engines business saw a very sharp increase.

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Operating result 2020

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Operating result 2020

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Operating result 2020

03 Our research

MAN believes that the future of passenger and goods traffic in our towns and cities will be electric. The strengths of electric vehicles are best realised in urban environments. They are locally emission-free and thus contribute to improvements in urban air quality and they are also extremely quiet. MAN accordingly also invested in 2020 in the development of electric drive trains for distribution trucks and urban buses.

While MAN will in future rely on battery-powered drives for urban traffic, there are multiple drive types that can potentially be used in long-distance traffic. Hydrogen is one of several potential alternatives that could be used as an energy source in the future. Here too, MAN Truck & Bus is conducting research into appropriate technologies. This transformation will see the illustrious MAN site in Nuremberg being converted from a diesel engine plant into a production and development hub for alternative drives. Fuel cell technology will play an important role in this.

One of the digital innovations that MAN Truck & Bus has introduced to offer its customers tailored digital solutions is called “MAN DigitalServices”. This enables MAN customers to view real time vehicle data and ensuing analyses, irrespective of location. It also produces recommendations for action that are specifically adapted to customers and their vehicles.

TRATON Group

04 Results

The uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic led to severe impacts on our sales and operating profit, particularly in the second quarter of 2020. The market decline already anticipated for 2020, especially in the EU27+3 region, was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our operating profit amounted to -553 million euros (2019: 371 million euros) and was below the positive value of the same period in the previous year, despite various cost reduction measures. This corresponds to an operating return of -5.7% (2019: 3.3%). In addition to the volume-related decline in turnover, the operating result was encumbered by increased write-downs and by greater difficulties in the used vehicle business. Additional costs associated with introducing our new truck generation also played a part, as did a reduction in the value of our leased products due to lower resale prices and expenditure relating to termination of an engine project announced by Navistar. Measures taken in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, including in particular the closure of our plants in the first half of 2020, also had a negative impact on our operating result. Short-time work and comparable measures to reduce personnel costs had an opposite effect on the operating result, alongside cost savings in all divisions.