MAN Truck & Bus
Such a thing has never been seen before at the Grünwalder Straße stadium. Before the third division football match between TSV 1860 München and FSV Zwickau, the Munich Lions and their Saxon guests came out onto the pitch as usual, but instead of children they were escorted by adult men and women holding their hands. Some spectators rubbed their eyes in disbelief – and that was exactly the intention of this unusual campaign, referring to an ever-growing problem: the lack of youngsters joining the profession means that the average age of truck drivers in Germany is rising.
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In the driving snow for a good cause: Before 1860 Munich's third division match against Zwickau, there was a very special action during the teams' run-in.
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In the campaign, which was supported by MAN, 22 truckers took the place of children, who normally escort the players, and thus drew attention to the acute shortage of truck drivers.
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The fun was not to be neglected either - after all, the Munich Lions shot themselves out of the crisis with a 3:1 victory.
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MAN boss Alexander Vlaskamp (r.) and Dirk Engelhardt (l.), BGL board spokesman, explained the problem in conversation with 1860 stadium spokesman Sebastian Schäch.
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Group picture with mascot: Sechzgerl" also supported the unprecedented action against the threatening situation in the drivers' cabs.
The lack of youngsters among truck drivers
MAN Truck & Bus has long been fighting the worsening truck driver shortage – and now it’s raising awareness among a broader audience through football. “As a truck manufacturer, we take the driver shortage very seriously,” said MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp ahead of the match. “We can see that the transport and logistics market is under increasing pressure from a lack of youngsters coming into the industry. That’s why we at MAN wanted to set an example with this campaign. After all, without truck drivers, Europe’s supply chains will grind to a halt.”
Without truck drivers, Europe’s supply chains will grind to a halt.
On video: 1860 stadium announcer Sebastian Schäch interviews MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp (r.) and Dr. Dirk Engelhardt (l.), BGL board spokesman, about the campaign and the problem of the driver shortage.
If we want to prevent situations like those seen in England, with empty supermarket shelves, there needs to be joined-up thinking.
New generation of MAN trucks developed with drivers and customers
The Bundesverband für Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung (BGL – Federal Road Haulage, Logistics and Waste Disposal Association) was a partner in the campaign. “If we want to prevent situations like those seen in England, with empty supermarket shelves, there needs to be joined-up thinking at all levels in politics, economics and society,” explained BGL board spokesman Prof. Dr. Dirk Engelhardt at the stadium. “We need much less bureaucracy, better working conditions and the work of truck drivers must be valued.”
Around 800,000 HGV drivers are on the roads of Germany every day at the moment, and more than 70 percent of our day-to-day goods are transported by truck. However, whether that will continue to be true remains to be seen. The BGL estimates that there is already a nationwide shortage of almost 100,000 professional truck drivers, and that trend is only going upwards: every year, some 30,000 truck drivers retire, while only 15,000 new drivers join the profession.
MAN Truck & Bus has seen the writing on the wall and is working hard to counter the truck driver shortage, for example with its nationwide “Drive for Germany” campaign. On top of that, the latest generation of trucks from MAN has been developed in collaboration with drivers and customers, including optimised control functions, improved ergonomics and comfort in the driver’s cab – all to attract more young people into the job in the future, without whom our society cannot function.
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of daily goods are transported by truck
