The zero-carbon revolution

This decade will be remembered as the tipping point for e-mobility. Sales of electric cars are booming. One in four new cars in Europe is already fully electric or a plug-in hybrid as drivers reject fossil fuels for a cleaner, quieter future. But cars are only one piece of the puzzle. It is relatively simple for households to cut their carbon emissions by swapping one type of car for another. For many drivers, price is the only issue: as the cost falls, we are more likely to make the switch to electric. The challenge is more complex for operators of commercial fleets, although the goal of the Paris Climate Accords – to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius – demands that the trucks and buses on our roads are as clean as the cars on our driveways. A genuine transport revolution requires widespread change, and that starts with a vision.

What does this mean for trucks and buses?

Commercial transport is at the beginning of a period of profound change due to three influential trends: digitisation, autonomous driving and electrification. While any one of these trends is significant, their combined impact will disrupt business models, transform our roads and cities and, ultimately, improve our lives. 

At the recent Greentech festival in Berlin, delegates caught a glimpse of the future by experiencing MAN’s electric eTGM truck and the MAN Lion’s City E bus for themselves. The event was an important milestone for the transport sector and the broader sustainability movement. Stefan Sahlman recalls: “When customers experienced our new products and services first hand, it brought the vision of a clean, sustainable future to life”.

Digitisation

MAN’s trucks and buses will feature sensors that collect information about road and traffic conditions, vehicle maintenance and passenger numbers. In other words, they will become data centres on wheels. When this data is connected to digital networks and combined with information from traffic lights, cameras and bus stops, transport operators and city authorities can make real-time decisions that will cut costs and improve efficiency and road safety.

Imagine how logistics will improve when a delivery truck can reroute itself and save energy because the sensors on the truck ahead of it reported a delay. Or how life will become easier for commuters when the bus they use daily tells authorities that the route is too busy. Digitisation will soon make this vision a reality.

Autonomous driving

For some road users, autonomous transport belongs to science fiction. And even those who understand the technology may be reluctant to travel in a vehicle with no driver. But resistance to change on this scale is to be expected; what matters is that transport manufacturers listen to the valid concerns of road users while explaining the benefits of autonomous transport.

Multiple trials have already shown that autonomous vehicles are much safer than those with a driver. Cameras and sensors have 360-degree visibility and never get tired; human error is virtually eliminated.

Yet one of the most significant benefits is perhaps less obvious. Autonomous vehicles travel at more consistent speeds than those controlled by human drivers, without stop-start braking and accelerating. This makes them more economical and efficient and allows traffic to flow more steadily in our cities and on our motorways.

Using live traffic data, autonomous trucks can be scheduled to operate delivery routes through the night when roads are quietest. This will distribute traffic flow more evenly throughout the day and cut congestion at peak times. Bottlenecks and gridlock will simply become a bad memory.

Electrification

The replacement of combustion engines with electric motors is one of the foundations of a zero-carbon future. Electrification will bring life-changing benefits to society, including cleaner air and quieter, more liveable cities.

Stefan Sahlman believes that transport operators will also enjoy the direct commercial benefits of electric power: “Electric motors and drivetrains have fewer moving parts than traditional combustion engines; this makes them easier to maintain, with lower running costs”.

MAN already produces emission-free trucks and buses and has conducted trials to help refine and develop its technology. The immediate challenge for Sahlman, who predicts 50% of MAN’s sales to be fully electric by 2030, is to bring the electrification of commercial transport into the mainstream.  

Clearly, some of these changes will take longer than others, and progress is rarely made in a straight line. But as Stefan Sahlman says: “The path to zero carbon is now clear. With determination and focus, MAN will be at the forefront of the commercial transport revolution”.